Question 1

Why does the Portuguese sentence use tem (has) instead of a translation for "come with"?

Accepted Answer

The verb ter (to have) is very versatile in Portuguese. Where English uses phrases like "comes with" or "includes", Portuguese often just uses ter. Literally, this sentence asks "The tour has lunch?". While you could use the verb incluir (to include), using ter is extremely common and natural in everyday speech.

Question 2

Why is there no article before almoço? Shouldn't it be tem um almoço?

Accepted Answer

When talking about meals as a general concept or event rather than a specific physical plate of food, Portuguese often drops the article. Just like in English you say "includes lunch" (not "includes a lunch"), it is perfectly natural to say tem almoço.

Question 3

There is no word for "does" in this sentence. How is this structured as a question?

Accepted Answer

Portuguese doesn't use helper verbs like "do" or "does" to form questions. You simply use the exact same word order as a regular statement and raise the pitch of your voice at the end of the sentence. If you were just stating a fact, it would be written exactly the same way: A excursão tem almoço (The tour comes with lunch).

Question 4

If I wanted to ask about multiple tours, how would I make excursão and tem plural?

Accepted Answer

Feminine words ending in -ão usually form their plurals by changing to -ões. The plural of a excursão is as excursões. To match the plural subject, the verb changes from tem to têm (adding a circumflex accent to show it is plural). The plural question is: As excursões têm almoço?

A excursão tem almoço?

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