Learn Portuguese (Portugal): De onde partem vocês?

De onde partem vocês?

Where do you leave from?

Breakdown of De onde partem vocês?

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Questions & Answers about De onde partem vocês?

How is the verb partir (to leave) conjugated here for vocês?

Partir is a regular -ir verb. To conjugate it for vocês (you plural) in the present tense, you drop the -ir ending and add -em, making it partem. This same -em ending is also used for eles (they, masculine) and elas (they, feminine).

Why does the sentence start with De onde instead of just Onde?

In English, we often put the preposition at the end of a question (like "Where do you leave from?"). In Portuguese, you cannot end a sentence with a preposition. Words like de (from) must go before the question word. So, it literally translates to "From where do you depart?"

Why is vocês at the end of the sentence instead of before the verb?

In Portuguese questions, it is very common to swap the order of the subject and the verb. While De onde vocês partem? is also grammatically correct, placing the subject (vocês) after the verb (partem) sounds very natural when asking a question.

Could I just say De onde partem? without the word vocês?

Yes! In Portuguese, you can often drop the subject pronoun because the verb ending gives it away. However, because partem can mean "you (plural) leave" OR "they leave", keeping vocês in the sentence makes it perfectly clear exactly who you are talking to.