Questions & Answers about O taxista fala inglês.
Why is it O taxista if taxista ends in an -a?
Why isn't the word for English (inglês) capitalized here?
Unlike in English, languages and nationalities are not capitalized in Portuguese unless they start a sentence. So, inglês is written with a lowercase letter.
Could I use fala to say "I speak English"?
No. The verb falar (to speak) changes depending on who is speaking. Fala is the form for he, she, or formal you. To say "I speak," you would use falo.
Why is there no word for "the" before inglês?
Directly after the verb falar (to speak), Portuguese generally does not use a definite article (like o or a) before the name of the language. You just say the language directly.
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