Breakdown of Vocês gostam da camisa branca?
vocês
you (pl)
branco
white
a camisa
the shirt
gostar de
to like
Questions & Answers about Vocês gostam da camisa branca?
There is no word for 'do' at the beginning of the sentence. How do we form yes/no questions in Portuguese?
In English, we use helper words like 'do' or 'does' to make a question. In Portuguese, you simply use the exact same word order as a normal statement and change your tone of voice to go up at the end. In writing, the only difference is the question mark. The statement 'You like the white shirt' and the question 'Do you like the white shirt?' are both written as Vocês gostam da camisa branca.
Why does the sentence use da instead of just a for 'the'?
The verb gostar (to like) is almost always followed by the preposition de. When you like a specific thing, like 'the shirt' (a camisa), the de combines with the a to make the contraction da. So, literally, you are saying 'Do you like of the white shirt?'.
Why is the adjective branca placed after camisa?
In Portuguese, adjectives (words that describe a noun, like colors) usually come right after the noun they are describing. So instead of saying 'white shirt', you say 'shirt white' (camisa branca). Because camisa is a feminine word, the adjective is also in its feminine form, branca (instead of the masculine branco).
Why does Vocês use the verb form gostam?