In this lesson, we will study interrogative pronouns and adjectives in Portuguese. Interrogative pronouns and adjectives are the tools we use to ask questions in Portuguese.
If the interrogative is followed by a noun, it becomes an interrogative adjective, e.g., “Que livro você gosta de ler?” (What book do you like to read?). In this case, the interrogative “que” is considered an interrogative adjective. If the noun is dropped, “que” becomes an interrogative pronoun, e.g., “O que você gosta de ler?” (What do you like to read?).
| Interrogative | Meaning | Examples |
| O que? | What? | O que você está fazendo? What are you doing? |
| Quem? | Who/Whom? | Quem fez isto? Who did this? |
| De quem? | Whose? | De quem é esse livro? Whose book is this? |
| Qual? Quais? | Which? | Qual é o seu carro? Which one is your car? |
| Quanto/-a(s)? | How much? How many? | Quanto custaeste casaco? How much does this coat cost? |
| Quando? | When? | Quando você quer vir? When do you want to come? |
| Onde? | Where? | Onde você esteve? Where have you been? |
| Como? | How? | Como fez isso? How did you do that? |
| Por que? Para que? | Why? | Por que você foi lá? Why did you go there? |
“Por que?” vs. “Porque”
pronoun “por que?” means “Why?”
If written without the space, i.e., “porque,” it means “because.”
“Por que?” vs. “Para que?”
Both “por que?” and “para que?” are often translated as “Why?” However, there is a subtle difference.
Whereas “por que?” enquires about the reason, “para que?” enquires about the purpose and can be better translated as “What for?”, e.g., “Para que você precisa disso?” (What do you need this for?).
Plural Forms of “Cuál” and “Quién”
Finally, notice that the interrogative “qual” has the plural form “quais,” whereas “quanto” has four forms depending on gender and number: “quanto,” “quanta,” “quantos,”and “quantas.”
Other lessons in Level I:
