The Other que
The last lesson's que pointed back at a noun: o livro que comprei. This lesson's que does a different job — it hangs a whole sentence off a verb of saying or thinking:
| Acho que o filme é bom. | I think (that) the film is good. |
| Ela diz que tem fome. | She says (that) she is hungry. |
| Sei que moras aqui. | I know (that) you live here. |
| Pensamos que o teste é fácil. | We think (that) the test is easy. |
Two rules, both where English tempts you astray:
- que is never optional. English drops that (I think the film is good); Portuguese never drops que.
- After these verbs the clause stays in the plain indicative — achar, dizer, saber and pensar state facts, so no subjunctive appears (that mood belongs to querer que and é bom que, which you have met separately).
| I think the film is good. | Acho que o filme é bom. |
Saying What Someone Said
With dizer in the past, the pattern is the backbone of retelling: Ela disse que não pode vir. The tense of the inner clause simply says what is true when.
Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io
