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Quem é ela?

Quem é ela?
Who is she?
From Lesson 3:Yes/no questions and question words (quem, o que)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of Quem é ela?

ser
to be
ela
she
quem
who

Questions & Answers about Quem é ela?

Why is the word order é ela (is she) instead of ela é (she is)?
In European Portuguese, when you start a question with a question word like Quem (Who), the verb comes right after it, before the subject. So we say Quem é ela? instead of Quem ela é?.
Does Quem change if we are asking about more than one person, like 'Who are they?'?
No, the word Quem stays exactly the same whether you are asking about one person or multiple people. You just change the verb and pronoun, for example: Quem são eles? (Who are they?).
How do I pronounce the word Quem?
The letter 'm' at the end of a word in Portuguese tells you to nasalize the vowel before it. Quem sounds a bit like the English word 'came' or 'cane' but said through your nose, without fully closing your lips for the 'm' at the end.
Why do we use é here instead of está?
We use é (from the verb ser) because asking 'Who is she?' is about someone's core identity. We use the other 'to be' verb, estar, for temporary states or locations, like asking how someone is feeling or where they are right now.

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