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Portuguese (Portugal)

Planning a neighborhood potluck means figuring out what everyone wants to eat, what is already covered, and what is still missing. In Portuguese, talking about cravings and missing items uses a sentence structure that might feel a bit "backward" to English speakers.

### The Dative-Experiencer Structure

Instead of saying "I desire" or "We lack," Portuguese uses verbs where the literal translation is closer to "It appeals to me" or "It is lacking to us."

In this structure, the person feeling the desire or noticing the lack is the **indirect object**. You express this using indirect object pronouns (*me, te, lhe, nos, vos, lhes*). The thing being desired or lacked is the grammatical **subject** of the sentence, which means the verb conjugates to match it.

### Apetecer (To feel like)

Use *apetecer* to say what you are in the mood for. When followed by a verb in the infinitive (the action you want to do), *apetecer* always stays in the third-person singular form (*apetece*). Notice how the pronoun attaches to the end of the verb with a hyphen in affirmative sentences.

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### Faltar (To be missing)

Use *faltar* to express that an item is missing or absent. Because the missing item is the subject, the verb must match it in number. If a single thing is missing, use *falta*; if multiple things are missing, use *faltam*.

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### Fazer falta (To need)

While *faltar* simply states that something is missing, the phrase *fazer falta* emphasizes that an item is **needed** or **missed**. Just like with *faltar*, the needed item acts as the subject, so the verb *fazer* changes to match it (*faz* for singular, *fazem* for plural).

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### Negation and Pronoun Placement

As you saw above, affirmative sentences usually place the pronoun after the verb (*apetece-me*, *falta-nos*). However, remember that negative words like *não* act as magnets. If you make any of these sentences negative, the *não* pulls the pronoun immediately **before** the verb, and the hyphen disappears.

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Verbs of desire and lack (apetecer, faltar)

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 rissole	o rissol
appetizing	apetitoso
I feel like eating an appetizing rissole.	Apetece-me comer um rissol apetitoso.
the savory pie	a empada
the croquette	o croquete
We are missing the savory pies and the croquettes.	Faltam-nos as empadas e os croquetes.
disposable	descartável
They are missing the disposable plates.	Faltam-lhes os pratos descartáveis.
the cooler	a geleira
the lack	fazer falta
Bring the cooler, we need it!	Traz a geleira, faz-nos falta!
the grill	o grelhador
Do you feel like bringing the grill?	Apetece-te trazer o grelhador?
the container	o recipiente
We don't need these containers.	Estes recipientes não nos fazem falta.
the mayonnaise	a maionese
the mustard	a mostarda
I just bought the mayonnaise, but we are missing the mustard.	Acabei de comprar a maionese, mas falta-nos a mostarda.
He feels like eating croquettes with mayonnaise.	Apetece-lhe comer croquetes com maionese.
Here one eats very appetizing rissoles.	Aqui comem-se rissóis muito apetitosos.
We need the cooler and the grill.	A geleira e o grelhador fazem-nos falta.
I don't feel like eating the savory pie with mustard.	Não me apetece comer a empada com mostarda.
Are you missing disposable containers?	Faltam-te recipientes descartáveis?
Do you need the disposable plates?	Fazem-te falta os pratos descartáveis?