Questions & Answers about Tira-me uma foto aqui, por favor.
The English translation says "Take a photo of me", but Portuguese uses the indirect object pronoun me. Why not say Tira uma foto de mim?
In Portuguese, actions done for someone or affecting someone usually take an indirect object pronoun (me) rather than a prepositional phrase. While Tira uma foto de mim is grammatically possible and emphasizes that you are the physical subject of the photo, Tira-me uma foto (literally "Take a photo for me") is the standard, natural way to ask someone to take your picture.
Why is the pronoun attached to the end of the verb (Tira-me) instead of coming before it?
In European Portuguese, affirmative commands (the imperative mood) always require the object pronoun to be attached to the end of the verb with a hyphen. You might hear the pronoun placed before the verb in Brazilian Portuguese, but in Portugal, Tira-me is the correct standard form here.
Is Tira considered a formal or informal command?
Tira is the informal tu form of the imperative. Since you might be asking a friend or someone you are on casual terms with, this fits perfectly. If you were asking a stranger or speaking formally, you would use the você form: Tire-me uma foto aqui, por favor.
Why do we use the verb tirar here instead of tomar or levar to mean "take"?
In Portuguese, tirar (which often means "to pull" or "to remove") is the fixed verb used for taking photos. Tomar is used for taking things like medicine, and levar is used for taking or carrying something to another location.
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