Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Quem é que compra o pão?

Quem é que compra o pão?

Who buys the bread?

Breakdown of Quem é que compra o pão?

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Questions & Answers about Quem é que compra o pão?

Why is é que added to this sentence?

Literally, é que translates to "is it that," making the sentence "Who is it that buys the bread?". In European Portuguese, people very often add é que right after question words like quem (who) to make the question flow better. You could also just ask Quem compra o pão?, but using é que sounds incredibly natural and native.

Why does the verb compra take the "he/she/it" form if we don't know who we are talking about?

Just like in English, the question word quem (who) is treated as a single, unknown person. Because we say "Who buys" instead of "Who buy" in English, Portuguese uses the third-person singular form of the verb comprar (to buy), which is compra.

Can I change the word order and put é que at the end of the sentence?

No, é que must always come immediately after the question word. It stays locked together as Quem é que, right before the main verb compra. Question words in Portuguese also almost always sit at the very beginning of the sentence.

Is the o before pão mandatory?