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Portuguese (Portugal)

### Adding Emphasis with *é que*

When you want to emphasize a specific detail in a declarative sentence—such as *who* did a DIY project or *which* tool they used—you can use the phrase **é que** (literally "is that"). 

To do this, pull the word or phrase you want to highlight to the very beginning of the sentence, immediately follow it with **é que**, and then add the rest of the sentence.

{{item:1003791}}

You can emphasize almost any part of the sentence this way, including the instruments used to get the job done.

{{item:1003794}}

### Emphasizing the Past with *foi que*

If the event you are highlighting happened in the past, you can match the past tense by using **foi que** ("it was... that"). This is extremely common when pointing out exactly *when* an action occurred.

{{item:1003798}}

### *é que* as a Fixed Particle

Because **é que** is so common in everyday Portuguese, it often acts as a fixed emphasis tag. This means you will frequently hear native speakers use **é que** even when the main action is in the past.

{{item:1003801}}

### Subject Agreement

When the element you pull to the front of the sentence is the subject, the main verb that comes after **é que** must still agree with it. If the emphasized subject is plural, the verb is plural.

{{item:1003802}}

### Focusing on Locations

You can also use these emphatic structures with prepositional phrases to highlight exactly *where* you stored your tools or completed a project.

{{item:1003803}}

{{item:1003807}}

Emphatic focus (é que / foi 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
is that	é que
the hammer	o martelo
the tool	a ferramenta
It is your brother who needs the hammer and the tool.	O teu irmão é que precisa do martelo e da ferramenta.
the pliers	o alicate
the screw	o parafuso
It is with the pliers that you take out the screw.	Com o alicate é que tu tiras o parafuso.
was that	foi que
the board	a tábua
the nail	o prego
It was yesterday that the father bought the board and the nail.	Ontem foi que o pai comprou a tábua e o prego.
to drill	furar
the drill	o berbequim
It was yesterday that I drilled the wood with the drill.	Ontem é que eu furei a madeira com o berbequim.
Those screws are the ones that are quite heavy.	Aqueles parafusos é que são bastante pesados.
It was in the box that I kept the little hammer and the tool.	Na caixa foi que eu guardei o martelinho e a ferramenta.
It is the engineer who usually uses this nail on the board.	O engenheiro é que costuma usar este prego na tábua.
This tool is the one that drills the wall too fast.	Esta ferramenta é que fura a parede demasiado rápido.
It is the worker who has been looking for the pliers and the drill.	O operário é que anda a procurar o alicate e o berbequim.
It was in the backyard that the child pierced the finger with the nail.	No quintal foi que a criança furou o dedo com o prego.
I wonder if (question opener)	será que
I wonder if it is going to rain.	Será que vai chover?
Does she still love me, I wonder?	Será que ela ainda me ama?
the fact	o facto
The fact is that nobody knows.	O facto é que ninguém sabe.
Facts are stronger than words.	Os factos são mais fortes do que as palavras.

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