Portuguese Year 4: «Que…?» and prepositions: asking and linking
Portuguese, Year 4 (Portugal): The interrogative determiner that asks about a noun (que, quantos) and the little word that links (de, em, para).
A word that asks, a word that links
The interrogative determiner comes before a noun and is used to ask: «Que livro lês?» (What book are you reading?), «Quantas bolachas comeste?» (How many biscuits did you eat?). The words are que, quanto, quanta, quantos, quantas. The preposition is a small word that links two words and never changes: a, de, em, por, para, com, sobre, até. It tells where, when, with whom or what about: «em casa» (at home), «de manhã» (in the morning), «com a Rita» (with Rita), «livro de Matemática» (maths book).
Asking well and linking well
Asking well is the key to finding things out. With «Que livro?» or «Quantos anos?» you say exactly what you want to know. Prepositions are the glue of sentences. «Moro Lisboa» (I live Lisbon) is not a full sentence; «Moro em Lisboa» (I live in Lisbon) is. Almost every sentence you say or write uses a preposition, so it is worth recognising them.
Analyse a question
Analyse: «Quantas bolachas comeste na casa da avó?» (How many biscuits did you eat at grandma's house?) Step 1: «Quantas» comes before «bolachas» and asks about quantity: interrogative determiner (feminine plural, like «bolachas»). Step 2: «na» is «em» + «a»: the preposition «em» joined the article «a». Step 3: «da» is «de» + «a»: the preposition «de» links «casa» to «avó».
Two words hidden in one
Some words look like one but are two. Do, da, no, na, pelo, ao are a preposition joined to an article: do = de + o; na = em + a; pelo = por + o; ao = a + o. The preposition is there, hidden. A second mistake is to think the preposition changes. It does not: we say «de menino» and «de meninas», always «de». What changes is the article that joins it: do, da, dos, das.
Riddles, surveys and directions
You find these words everywhere. In a guessing game: «Que animal sou?» (Which animal am I?) In a survey: «Quantos irmãos tens?» (How many brothers and sisters do you have?) In directions: «até à escola» (as far as the school), «em frente» (straight ahead), «para a esquerda» (to the left). Without prepositions, a map or a sign would be hard to understand.
Test what you learned
What does a preposition do?
- a) It links two words and never changes
- b) It stands in for a noun
- c) It asks about a noun, before it
- d) It says what someone does
Correct answer: a) It links two words and never changes — Yes: in «livro de Matemática», «de» links «livro» and «Matemática», and it is always «de».
In «Quantos amigos vieram à festa?» (How many friends came to the party?), which word is the interrogative determiner?
- a) amigos
- b) vieram
- c) festa
- d) Quantos
Correct answer: d) Quantos — Yes: «Quantos» comes before the noun «amigos», asks about quantity and agrees with it (masculine plural).
In «Fui ao parque» (I went to the park), what is «ao»?
- a) Just an article
- b) The preposition «a» joined to the article «o»
- c) A pronoun
- d) An interrogative determiner
Correct answer: b) The preposition «a» joined to the article «o» — Yes: ao = a + o. You go «a» (to) somewhere, and «o parque» takes the article.
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