Pronunciation Focus — Requests & Reasons, quero/quer, posso/pode

Unit 6 teaches you to express wants and abilities (“I want to…”, “I can…”), to ask and answer “why?” and “because,” and to use prepositions com (“with”) and sem (“without”). The pronunciation focus is on syllable-final l, which sounds like a w in Brazilian Portuguese.

Syllable-Final l

When l appears at the end of a word or syllable, many Brazilian Portuguese speakers pronounce it almost like a w. This is one of the distinctive features of Brazilian speech.

Portuguese	Pronunciation Note
Qual	final l sounds like w
Raquel	final l sounds like w
Brasil	final l sounds like w
solteiro	l at end of syllable, w-like
Silva	l at end of syllable, w-like

Title of Respect: Dona

The title dona is used before feminine first names as a mark of respect, similar to how English speakers might use “Ms.” or “Mrs.”

Portuguese	English
dona Nilza	(title) Nilza
dona Ângela	(title) Ângela
dona Inês	(title) Inês
Como vai, dona Raquel?	How are you, Raquel?

Title of Respect: O senhor + surname

When o senhor precedes a surname, it functions like English “Mr.” or “Mister.”

Portuguese	English
o senhor Silva	Mr. Silva
o senhor Santos	Mr. Santos
O senhor Silva está em Brasília.	Mr. Silva is in Brasília.

Quero / Quer — I want / wants

The I-form is quero (“I want”) and the he-form is quer (“wants”). Both are followed by an infinitive.

Portuguese	English
quero	I want
quer	want(s) (he-form)
Eu quero sair.	I want to leave.
Eu quero ficar.	I want to stay.
O José quer ficar.	José wants to stay.
A Nilza quer dançar.	Nilza wants to dance.

New Infinitives: trabalhar, vir

Portuguese	English
trabalhar	to work
vir	to come
O Marcos vai trabalhar.	Marcos is going to work.
O senhor quer vir?	Do you want to come?

Conversational Exchange 1

Portuguese	English
A Lúcia quer vir?	Does Lúcia want to come?
Não, não quer.	No, she doesn’t.

Conversational Exchange 2

Portuguese	English
O senhor quer trabalhar hoje?	Do you want to work today?
Quero, sim.	Yes, I do.

Conversational Exchange 3

Portuguese	English
Quem quer ficar?	Who wants to stay?
Eu quero ficar.	I want to stay.

Posso / Pode — I can / can

The I-form is posso (“I can”) and the he-form is pode (“can”). The o in both is open, like the aw of “paws.”

Portuguese	English
posso	I can
pode	can (he-form)
Eu posso ficar.	I can stay.
Eu posso sair.	I can leave.
O José pode estudar.	José can study.
A Maria pode sair.	Maria can leave.
Eu não posso dançar.	I can’t dance.

Conversational Exchange 4

Portuguese	English
O senhor pode ficar?	Can you stay?
Posso, sim.	Yes, I can.

Conversational Exchange 5

Portuguese	English
O senhor pode dançar?	Can you dance?
Não, não posso.	No, I can’t.

Conversational Exchange 6

Portuguese	English
A Ângela pode sair?	Can Ângela come out?
Pode, claro.	Of course she can.

Por que? and Porque — Why? and Because

The question “Why?” is written as two words: Por que? The answer “because” is written as one word: porque. They are pronounced almost identically — the difference is mainly in sentence intonation.

Portuguese	English
Por que?	Why?
porque	because
Por que o senhor vai?	Why are you going?
Porque eu quero.	Because I want to.

Conversational Exchange 7

Portuguese	English
Por que o senhor vai a Filadélfia?	Why are you going to Philadelphia?
Porque não conheço.	Because I don’t know it.

Conversational Exchange 8

Portuguese	English
Por que o senhor vai ficar?	Why are you going to stay?
Porque está chovendo.	Because it’s raining.

Conversational Exchange 9

Portuguese	English
Por que a senhora quer sair agora?	Why do you want to go out now?
Porque a tarde está linda.	Because the afternoon is beautiful.

Conversational Exchange 10

Portuguese	English
Por que a senhora vai à festa?	Why are you going to the party?
Porque eu quero dançar.	Because I want to dance.

Com / Sem / Comigo — With / Without / With me

The preposition com (“with”) rhymes with bom. The preposition sem (“without”) rhymes with bem. The special form comigo means “with me.”

Portuguese	English
com	with
sem	without
comigo	with me
com a Yara	with Yara
sem o Marcos	without Marcos
Quem vai sair comigo?	Who’s going to go out with me?

Conversational Exchange 11

Portuguese	English
A Ângela está com o senhor?	Is Ângela with you?
Não, ela está com a Sandra.	No, she’s with Sandra.

Conversational Exchange 12

Portuguese	English
O senhor quer estudar comigo?	Do you want to study with me?
Não, não quero.	No, I don’t.

Conversational Exchange 13

Portuguese	English
O Luís vai sair sem a Lúcia?	Is Luís going to leave without Lúcia?
Vai, sim.	Yes, he is.

Conversational Exchange 14

Portuguese	English
O senhor vai trabalhar?	Are you going to work?
Não, eu não posso trabalhar sem ela.	No, I can’t work without her.

Key Vocabulary Summary

Portuguese	English
dona	title of respect (feminine)
o senhor + surname	Mr. (title of respect)
quero	I want
quer	want(s) (he-form)
posso	I can
pode	can (he-form)
trabalhar	to work (infinitive)
vir	to come (infinitive)
por que?	why?
porque	because
com	with
sem	without
comigo	with me
Brasil	Brazil

Requests and Reasons

Pronunciation & Topics

Course Material