Log inSign up

Quero um selo, por favor.

Quero um selo, por favor.
I want a stamp, please.
From Lesson 38:Money and shopping (custar, a moeda)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Quero um selo, por favor.

Why doesn't the sentence start with Eu (I)?
In Portuguese, you can often drop the subject pronoun like Eu because the verb itself tells you who is doing the action. The verb form Quero only ever means "I want", so the word Eu is unnecessary.
Is it polite to say Quero (I want) when asking for something?
Saying Quero is quite direct. Adding por favor (please) softens it, making it fine for simple transactions like buying a stamp. However, to sound even more polite, Portuguese speakers often use Queria (I would like) instead.
Why do we use um here instead of uma?
You use um because the word for stamp, selo, is masculine (you can often guess this because it ends in an "o"). If you were asking for a feminine item, like a letter (uma carta), you would use the feminine word for "a", which is uma.

Learn Quero um selo, por favor and more in Portuguese

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Portuguese →