Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Vocês bebem o sumo?

Vocês bebem o sumo?

Do you drink the juice?

Breakdown of Vocês bebem o sumo?

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Questions & Answers about Vocês bebem o sumo?

How do we conjugate the verb for 'vocês' in this sentence?

The verb here is beber (to drink), which is a regular -er verb. To conjugate it for vocês (you plural), you drop the -er ending and add -em, giving you bebem.

If 'vocês' means 'you', why doesn't it use a second-person verb ending?

In Portuguese, vocês means 'you' (plural), but grammatically it acts like 'they'. That means it always uses the third-person plural form of the verb. So, vocês bebem uses the exact same verb form as eles bebem (they drink).

How do you make this a question without a word like 'Do' at the beginning?

In Portuguese, you don't need extra helping words like 'do' or 'does' to ask a simple yes/no question. You just keep the exact same word order as a normal statement (Vocês bebem o sumo = You drink the juice) and raise the pitch of your voice at the end to make it a question (Vocês bebem o sumo? = Do you drink the juice?).

Is sumo the only word for juice? I sometimes see 'suco' in translation apps.

Sumo is the standard word for 'juice' in Portugal. You might see the word suco in apps or online, but that is the word used in Brazilian Portuguese. Since you are learning European Portuguese, sumo is the word you should use!