Log inSign up

Não bebes o vinho? Porquê?

Não bebes o vinho? Porquê?
You are not drinking the wine? Why?
From Lesson 57:Asking why: porquê and porque·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Não bebes o vinho? Porquê?

Why is there no word for "are" or "do" in Não bebes?
In Portuguese, you don't need extra helping verbs like "do" or "are" to ask questions. Bebes can mean "you drink" or "you are drinking". To turn it into a question, you simply raise the pitch of your voice at the end!
How do I know it means "you" if the word tu is missing?
The ending of the verb tells you who is doing the action. The verb beber (to drink) changes to bebes only for the informal "you" (tu). Since the ending already makes it clear, the pronoun is usually dropped.
Could Não bebes o vinho? also mean "Don't you drink the wine?" in general?
Yes! The present tense in Portuguese covers both habits ("Don't you drink wine?") and actions happening right now ("Aren't you drinking the wine right now?"). The context of the conversation tells you which one makes sense.
Why does Porquê have an accent mark?
In Portuguese, porquê is written as one word with an accent when it stands completely alone as a question, or when it comes at the very end of a sentence. If you start a question with "why", you use Por que (two words, no accent).

Learn Não bebes o vinho? Porquê 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 →