Log inSign up

Porque é que não comes o peixe? — Porque não gosto de peixe.

Porque é que não comes o peixe? — Porque não gosto de peixe.
Why are you not eating the fish? — Because I do not like fish.
From Lesson 57:Asking why: porquê and porque·Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of Porque é que não comes o peixe? — Porque não gosto de peixe.

não
not / no
comer
to eat
o peixe
the fish
gostar de
to like
porque
because

Questions & Answers about Porque é que não comes o peixe? — Porque não gosto de peixe.

Why does the question start with Porque é que instead of just Porque?
In Portuguese, people very often add é que after question words to emphasize them and make the sentence flow better. Literally it means "Why is it that", but it is used exactly like a normal "Why". The answer uses just Porque, which means "Because".
How do we know who is supposed to eat the fish if there is no "you" in the sentence?
The verb ending gives it away. comes is the informal "you" form of the verb comer (to eat). In Portuguese, because the verb changes for each person, you can usually leave out the pronoun for "you" (tu).
Why is there an o before peixe in the question, but not in the answer?
In the question, o peixe refers to a specific fish, like the one sitting on your plate. In the answer, you are talking about fish in general. Since you are just saying "I don't like fish" rather than "the fish", you leave out the word for "the" (o).
Why is there a de in gosto de peixe?
The verb gostar (to like) requires the little word de right after it. It helps to think of it as saying "I am fond of" instead of just "I like". You will see gostar de used together almost all the time!

Learn Porque é que não comes o peixe? — Porque não gosto de peixe 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 →