Podes aproximar a cadeira da mesa, por favor?

Podes is the 2nd person singular form of poder in the present tense: tu podes = you can.

In this sentence, it is being used the same way English uses Can you... ? to make a request:

• Podes aproximar... ? = Can you move... closer...?

In European Portuguese, this is a normal informal way to ask someone to do something.

Portuguese often omits the subject pronoun when it is clear from the verb form.

So:

• Tu podes aproximar...
• Podes aproximar...

both mean the same thing.

Because podes already tells you the subject is tu, native speakers usually leave tu out unless they want emphasis, contrast, or extra clarity.

After poder, Portuguese normally uses the infinitive of the next verb.

So:

• podes aproximar = you can move / bring closer

This works like English:

• you can move
• not you can moves

So the structure is:

• podes = conjugated verb
• aproximar = infinitive

Here aproximar means to move something closer to something else.

So:

• aproximar a cadeira da mesa = move the chair closer to the table

It does not mean just approach in the sense of walking up yourself. With objects, it often means bring nearer or pull closer.

Here da mesa does not mean the table’s chair.

With aproximar, the pattern is:

• aproximar X de Y = move X closer to Y

So:

• a cadeira = the chair
• da mesa = de + a mesa = to/from/of the table depending on context, but here it means in relation to the table

In this sentence, the meaning is:

• move the chair closer to the table

So da mesa is part of the verb pattern, not a possessive idea.

Because in Portuguese, de + a normally contracts to da.

So:

• de + a mesa → da mesa

This kind of contraction is very common:

• de + o → do
• de + a → da
• de + os → dos
• de + as → das

Yes, that is a good literal way to think about it.

A more natural English translation would usually be:

• Can you move the chair closer to the table, please?

Depending on the situation, it could also feel like:

• Can you pull the chair up to the table, please?

So the exact English wording can vary, but the core idea is make the chair nearer to the table.

It is grammatically a question, but functionally it is a polite request.

Just like in English:

• Can you open the window?

usually means a request, not a real question about ability.

So Podes aproximar a cadeira da mesa, por favor? is a normal polite way of asking someone to do that action.

It is polite enough in an informal context, especially with someone you would address as tu.

Examples:

• friends
• family
• children
• classmates
• coworkers in an informal setting

If you want to sound more formal or more distant in European Portuguese, you would usually switch to a 3rd person form, for example:

• Pode aproximar a cadeira da mesa, por favor?
• Podia aproximar a cadeira da mesa, por favor? — softer and more polite

So podes is fine, but it is specifically informal.

Por favor means please.

It makes the request sound more polite and softer.

The sentence without it is still grammatical:

• Podes aproximar a cadeira da mesa?

But adding por favor is often more courteous, especially when asking someone to do something for you.

Not in this exact structure, because aproximar-se is reflexive and usually means to move oneself closer.

Compare:

• aproximar a cadeira da mesa = move the chair closer to the table
• aproximar-se da mesa = move closer to the table yourself

So if the chair is what is moving, aproximar works. If the person is moving, aproximar-se works.

Yes, it is correct and natural.

It sounds fairly neutral and clear. In everyday speech, some people might choose other verbs depending on the exact movement, such as puxar if they specifically mean pull the chair, but aproximar is a perfectly good choice when the idea is simply move it closer.

So for a learner, this is a very useful and solid sentence pattern.

The structure is:

• Podes = can you
• aproximar = move closer / bring closer
• a cadeira = the chair
• da mesa = to the table / closer to the table
• por favor = please

So the pattern is essentially:

• [Can you] + [verb] + [object] + [thing it should get closer to] + [please]

This is a useful model you can reuse, for example:

• Podes aproximar a cama da parede, por favor?
• Podes aproximar o sofá da janela, por favor?