Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Prometes-me a verdade?

Prometes-me a verdade?

Do you promise me the truth?

Breakdown of Prometes-me a verdade?

Questions & Answers about Prometes-me a verdade?

This is a question, so why isn't the me in front of the verb?

The current lesson teaches moving the pronoun to the front when there is a specific question word like onde (where) or o que (what). Because this is a simple yes/no question with no question word, the pronoun follows the normal rule and stays attached to the end of the verb.

How does prometes-me mean "do you promise me" if there is no word for "you" or "do"?

In Portuguese, you don't use a helper verb like "do" to ask a question. Also, the verb ending -es in prometes already tells us the subject is tu (the informal "you"). Therefore, the word tu can be dropped completely.

Why is there a hyphen in prometes-me?

In European Portuguese, object pronouns like me (meaning "me" or "to me") naturally attach to the end of the verb with a hyphen. They only move to the front if a trigger word, like não, pulls them there.

Why do we use the article a before verdade?

Verdade is a feminine noun. Just like in English where we say "the truth" instead of just "truth", Portuguese requires the feminine definite article a (the) before it.