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Portuguese (Portugal)

### Emphasizing with Cleft Sentences

When you want to emphasize a specific detail in a sentence—like exactly *who* you danced with or *what* you tripped on at the carnival—Portuguese uses a structure called a cleft sentence. This involves wrapping the emphasized information between the verb **ser** and **que**.

In English, we often leave prepositions at the end of a sentence (e.g., "Was it him you threw the confetti *at*?"). In Portuguese, the preposition cannot be left dangling; it must stay firmly attached to the noun or pronoun it modifies, coming immediately after the verb **ser**.

The general structure is:
**[Ser] + [Preposition] + [Emphasized Noun/Pronoun] + que + [Rest of Sentence]**

Notice how the tense of **ser** generally matches the tense of the main verb. If the action happened in the past, use **foi**:

{{item:1038823}}

{{item:1038825}}

If the action is happening in the present, use **é**:

{{item:1038827}}

### Moving Required Prepositions

Many common verbs naturally require a specific preposition. When emphasizing the object of these verbs, that required preposition is pulled to the front of the sentence along with the noun.

For instance, verbs like **esbarrar** (to bump into) and **tropeçar** (to trip on) require the preposition **em** (in/on). When moved to the front, **em** still contracts normally with the following article (e.g., *em* + *a* = *na*):

{{item:1038834}}

{{item:1038830}}

Finally, if you are emphasizing a continuous or repeated background action in the past, **ser** takes its imperfect form, **era**:

{{item:1038846}}

{{item:1038849}}

Emphasizing with prepositions (foi a ele que)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prefix

prep

preposition

pron

pronoun

sentence

verb

Demonstratives and the verb to be (isto é, o, a)

Subject pronouns and negation (eu, não)

Yes/no questions and question words (quem, o que)

Plural pronouns, articles, and verbs (somos, são, os, as)

Origin and possession (de, do, da)

Introductions (chamar-se)

Indefinite articles (um, uma, uns, umas)

The verb to be for locations (estar)

Contrasting the two verbs to be (ser vs. estar)

Preposition for locations (em, no, na)

Numbers 0 to 10 (zero, um, dois)

The verb to have (tenho, tem)

Regular -ar verbs (falar, trabalhar)

Regular -er verbs (comer, beber)

Regular -ir verbs (abrir, partir)

My, your, and our (o meu, a nossa)

His, hers, and theirs (dele, dela)

Adjective agreement and placement

Days of the week (segunda-feira)

Months of the year (janeiro)

Counting by tens to 100 (trinta, quarenta...)

Telling time (é uma, são...)

Asking about time (quando, a que horas)

The verb to go (ir)

Prepositions of direction (a, para)

Preposition a contractions (ao, à, aos, às)

Prepositions of place (ao lado de, em frente de...)

Demonstratives (este, esse, aquele)

Contractions with demonstratives (neste, desse, daquele)

Asking which and how many (qual, quanto)

Plurals ending in -ão (-ões, -ãos, -ães)

Plurals ending in consonants (-ns, -is, -es)

The verb to like (gostar de)

The verb to need (precisar de)

The verb to want (querer)

The verb can or may (poder)

Expressing obligation (ter de)

Adverbs of degree (muito, pouco)

Quantifiers (muito, pouco)

Comparatives (mais... do que, menos... do que)

Equality comparisons (tão... como)

The preposition com (comigo, contigo)

Coordinating conjunctions (e, mas, ou, porque)

The preposition por (pelo, pela)

Double negation (nunca, nada, ninguém)

Present continuous (estar a)

Near future (ir)

Past tense of regular -ar verbs

Past tense of regular -er and -ir verbs

Past tense of ser and ir (fui, foi)

Direct object pronouns (me, te, o, a, nos, os, as)

Pronoun placement with negatives and questions

Greetings and courtesy (bom dia, obrigado)

Physical states with ter (ter fome, ter frio)

Asking the way (à direita, sempre em frente)

Colours (vermelho, amarelo, cor-de-rosa)

Money and shopping (custar, a moeda)

Getting around (o motorista, a paragem de autocarro)

Weather and seasons (faz calor, o inverno)

Omitting the subject pronoun

Where things are: ficar (Onde fica...?)

Richer questions: que + noun and é que

Numbers above 100 (cento e vinte, mil)

First-person sound changes (durmo, prefiro)

Advice and ability: dever and saber

Asking why: porquê and porque

When one thing happens: quando-clauses

Here and there: aqui, aí, ali (cá e lá)

Formal and plural possessives: o seu, o vosso

Irregular presents: ver, vir, dar

Present irregulars

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se, nos)

Stem-changing reflexives

Attached object pronouns (-lo, -la, -los, -las)

Nasal attached pronouns (-no, -na, -nos, -nas)

Pronoun placement with adverbs

Past tense of fazer, dizer, and trazer

Past tense of ter, estar, poder, and saber

Past tense of querer and vir

Past tense of ver, dar, and ler

Past tense reflexive verbs (-se)

Time elapsed in the past (há)

Question	Answer
the reveler	o folião
the carnival	o Carnaval
Was it the reveler you danced with at the carnival?	Foi com o folião que tu dançaste no Carnaval?
the confetti	o confete
Was it him you threw the confetti at?	Foi a ele que atiraste o confete?
the wig	a peruca
It's the girl in a wig that I give the mask to.	É à rapariga de peruca que eu dou a máscara.
the costume (for a party or carnival)	a fantasia
to trip	tropeçar
Was it his costume that you tripped on?	Foi na fantasia dele que tu tropeçaste?
It's the girl that I'm leaving with.	É com a rapariga que eu me vou embora.
If you see the reveler, it's to him you give the confetti.	Se vires o folião, é a ele que dás o confete.
to bump	esbarrar
It was the girl with the mask that I bumped into.	Foi na rapariga da máscara que eu esbarrei.
the parade	o desfile
Maybe it was at the parade that he tripped.	Se calhar, foi no desfile que ele tropeçou.
Maybe it was this reveler we ran away from at the carnival.	Se calhar, foi deste folião que fugimos no Carnaval.
It was in costume that I went to the parade.	Foi de fantasia que eu fui ao desfile.
the streamer	a serpentina
It was into the girl with the streamer that I bumped.	Foi na rapariga com a serpentina que eu esbarrei.
It was at him that I threw the confetti and the streamer.	Foi a ele que eu atirei os confetes e a serpentina.
It was with the man in the wig that I danced.	Foi com o homem de peruca que eu dancei.
to wave	acenar
Was it to the reveler that you waved?	Foi ao folião que tu acenaste?
No, it was to him that I waved and threw the confetti!	Não, foi a ele que acenei e atirei o confete!
Whenever the parade stopped, it was with her that I danced.	Sempre que o desfile parava, era com ela que eu dançava.
the drum	o tambor
the whistle	o apito
It was at the drum that he was looking, not even at the whistle!	Era para o tambor que ele olhava, nem sequer para o apito!
It was because of the whistle and the drum that I didn't hear you.	Foi por causa do apito e do tambor que não te ouvi.