Types of Sentences
Portuguese declarative sentences, as in many languages, are the less marked.
Imperative sentences use the imperative mood for the second person. For other grammatical persons and for every negative imperative sentence, the subjunctive is used.
Yes/no questions have the same structure as declarative sentences, and are marked only by a different tonal pattern (mostly a raised tone near the end of the sentence), represented by a question mark («?») in writing. Wh-questions often start with quem ("who"), o que ("what"), qual ("which"), onde ("where"), aonde ("where... to"), quando ("when"), porquê ("why"), etc. Quem, o que and qual can be preceded by any preposition, but in this case o que will most times be replaced by que. In oral language, but often also in writing, these words are followed by the interrogative device é que (literally, "is that"; compare French est-ce que).
Wh-questions sometimes occur without wh-movement, that is, wh-words remain in situ. In this case, o que and porque are to be replaced by their stressed counterparts o quê and porquê'.' (There are also four types of "porquês". When it is the first word in a sentence, comes as "porque"; if it be the last word, "porquê"; if meaning "because", porque; and when it's a noun i.e. meaning "the reason of / in this / about this", hence it comes as "porquê"). For example:
- O que/Que é que ela fez? or O que/que fez ela?
- "What did she do?"
- Ela fez o quê?
- "What did she do?" or, if emphatic, "She did what?"
- Por quê?
- "Why?"
- Em que dia é que isso aconteceu?
- "On what day did that happen?"
- Isso aconteceu em que dia?
- "On what day did that happen?"
In Brazilian Portuguese, the phrase é que is more often omitted.
Read more about this topic: Portuguese Grammar
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