Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Quer ficar em casa ou sair? - Do you want to stay at home or go out?

Quer ficar em casa ou sair?

Do you want to stay at home or go out?

Breakdown of Quer ficar em casa ou sair?

Questions & Answers about Quer ficar em casa ou sair?

Where is the word for "you" in Quer ficar?

In Portuguese, pronouns are often left out because the verb form tells us who is doing the action. Quer is the "you" (formal) form of querer (to want). You don't need to say Você quer unless you want to add emphasis.

Why are ficar and sair not conjugated?

When you have a main conjugated verb like quer (you want) followed by another action, the second action stays in its basic dictionary form (the infinitive). The sentence literally means "You want to stay at home or to go out?".

How does the word ou (or) work with the verbs here?

The conjunction ou connects your two choices: ficar (to stay) and sair (to go out). Because both actions rely on the same main verb (quer), they both stay in the infinitive form. You don't need to repeat the word quer after ou.

Why does it say em casa instead of na casa?

When talking about being "at home" (meaning your own home), Portuguese just uses the preposition em (in/at) without adding "the" (which would make it na). If you said na casa, it would sound like you are talking about being inside a specific physical building rather than the everyday concept of being "at home".