Porque é que estudas português? — Porque a minha família mora em Lisboa.

Questions & Answers about Porque é que estudas português? — Porque a minha família mora em Lisboa.

Why does the question start with Porque é que instead of just Porque?
In Portuguese, questions asking "why" almost always use the phrase Porque é que (literally "why is it that"). You can technically use just Porque to ask why, but adding é que is much more natural and common in Portugal.
How do we know who is studying if there is no word for "you" in the sentence?
The verb ending tells you! Estudas is the informal "you" (tu) form of the verb estudar (to study). In Portuguese, it is very common to leave out pronouns like "I" or "you" because the verb itself already shows exactly who is doing the action.
Both the question and the answer use the word Porque. Does it mean both "why" and "because"?
Yes! Porque can mean "because" (as in the answer) or "why" (as in the question). When asking "why" at the beginning of a sentence, it is usually combined with é que, as seen here. Note: If "why" comes at the very end of a sentence, it is written differently, as porquê.
Why is there an a before minha família?
In European Portuguese, you usually put a definite article (like o or a, meaning "the") right before possessive words (like meu or minha). So instead of saying just "my family", you say a minha família, which literally translates to "the my family".
Since família refers to multiple people, why does the verb mora use a singular ending?
Just like in English, the word família represents a single group. Because it is grammatically a singular noun ("one family"), it takes the singular "he/she/it" verb ending, giving us mora (from the verb morar, to live).

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