How to Ask for Clarification

Learn how to ask for clarification

Dialogue

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Portuguese by PortuguesePod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask for clarification in Portuguese.

For example, "Can you repeat that?" is

Você pode repetir.

Sabrina Santos meets her neighbor, Adriano Araujo , for the first time in the lobby of their building.

Adriano introduces himself but Sabrina doesn’t catch his name and asks for clarification.

Before you hear the conversation, let's preview some of its key components,

Repetir.

"repeat"

Repetir.

Note, Sabrina uses informal Portuguese.

Oi! Eu sou Adriano. Prazer.

Você pode repetir, por favor?

Eu sou Adriano.

Once more with the English translation.

Oi! Eu sou Adriano. Prazer.

"Hi! I'm Adriano. Nice to meet you."

Você pode repetir, por favor?

"Can you repeat that, please?"

Eu sou Adriano.

"I'm Adriano."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Adriano introduces himself?

"Hi! I'm Adriano. Nice to meet you."

Oi! Eu sou Adriano. Prazer.

First is Oi, "hi." Oi. Oi.

Note: Oi is an informal greeting in Portuguese.

Next is Eu sou Adriano. "I'm Adriano."

First is eu sou, "I'm." Eu sou. Eu sou.

Note: Sou is from the verb ser, "to be." Ser.

Next is the name, Adriano. Adriano. Adriano.

Note: Adriano only uses his given name. Sabrina and Adriano are young adults in an informal situation, so he only needs his given name.

Finally is prazer, meaning "a pleasure." Prazer. Prazer.

This version can be used in many contexts and is appropriate for both informal and formal situations.

All together, it's Oi! Eu sou Adriano. Prazer. "Hi! I'm Adriano. Nice to meet you."

Oi! Eu sou Adriano. Prazer.

Sabrina can't catch his name.

Do you remember how she asks,

"Can you repeat that, please?"

Você pode repetir, por favor?

First is você, meaning "you," in this context. Você. Você.

Note: in Brazilian Portuguese você is used when addressing someone in a casual conversation. In this conversation, Adriano and Sabrina are of similar age, so the informal você is more natural.

Next is pode, meaning "can," as in you are able. Pode. Pode.

Pode is from the verb poder, "to be able to." Poder.

Next is repetir, "repeat." Repetir. Repetir.

Repetir is a verb, meaning "to repeat," in its infinitive form.

Together, você pode repetir literally means, "you can repeat," but in this context, it translates as, "can you repeat ?" Você pode repetir.

Note: "That" is added to the translation so that the English sounds more natural, but there is no corresponding word in the Portuguese question.

Last is por favor, "please." Por favor. Por favor.

All together, Você pode repetir, por favor? Literally, "You can repeat, please," but translates as "Can you repeat that, please?"

Você pode repetir, por favor?

Finally, do you remember how Adriano says,

"I'm Adriano."

Hint, you've heard it before.

Eu sou Adriano. "I'm Adriano."

Eu sou Adriano.

In this lesson, you learned how to ask for clarification in an informal situation:

Você pode repetir, por favor?

"Can you repeat that, please?"

To ask for clarification in a formal situation:

Poderia repetir, por favor?

"Could you repeat that, please?"

Poderia repetir, por favor?

Note the following changes in the formal form.

First, we omit você as it's an informal way of addressing someone.

Second, poderia, replaces pode.

Poderia, "could." Poderia. Poderia.

Poderia is from the verb poder, "to be able to." Poder.

All together, Poderia repetir, por favor?

"Could repeat , please?"

Let’s look at the expressions once more. First you will hear informal expressions, followed by their formal counterparts.

Listen and repeat.

Você pode repetir?

"Can you repeat that?"

Você pode repetir?

Você pode repetir, por favor?

"Can you repeat that, please?"

Você pode repetir, por favor?

"Could you repeat that?"

Poderia repetir?

Poderia repetir, por favor?

"Could you repeat that, please?"

Poderia repetir, por favor?

Não entendi.

"I didn't understand."

Não entendi.

Você pode falar mais devagar?

"Can you speak more slowly?"

Você pode falar mais devagar?

Did you notice the new expressions we used?

Não entendi.

"I didn't understand." Não entendi.

Literally, Não entendi means "not understood," but it translates as "I didn't understand," or "I don’t understand." Não entendi.

Next is

Você pode falar mais devagar?

"Can you speak more slowly?" Você pode falar mais devagar?

First is você pode, meaning "you can." Você pode.

Next is falar, "speak." Falar. Falar.

After this is mais, "more." Mais. Mais.

Finally, devagar, "slowly." Devagar. Devagar

All together, Você pode falar mais devagar? Literally, "You can speak more slowly," but it translates as "Can you speak more slowly?" Você pode falar mais devagar?

Let's review the key vocabulary.

Falar.

"speak"

Falar.

Mais.

"more"

Mais.

Devagar.

"slowly"

Devagar.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember the informal way to say,

"you"?

Você.

And how to say "repeat?"

Repetir.

Do you remember the informal way to say,

"please"?

Por favor.

Do you remember how Sabrina asks,

"Can you repeat that, please?"

Remember she uses informal Portuguese.

Você pode repetir, por favor?

Do you remember how to say

"Nice to meet you."

Prazer.

And how to say

"Hi."

Oi.

And do you remember how Adriano says,

"Hi! I'm Adriano. Nice to meet you."

Oi! Eu sou Adriano. Prazer.

Do you remember the formal way to say "could you?"

Poderia.

And the formal way to say

"Could you repeat that, please?"

Poderia repetir, por favor?

Do you remember how to say "speak?"

Falar.

And how to say "more?"

Mais.

Do you remember how to say "slowly?"

Devagar.

And the informal way to say,

"Can you speak more slowly?"

Você pode falar mais devagar?

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Sergio Santos. Adriano introduces himself, but you can't catch his name. Ask him to repeat it using informal Portuguese.

Ready?

Eu sou Adriano. Prazer.

Você pode repetir, por favor?

Listen again and repeat.

Você pode repetir, por favor?

Let's try another.

Imagine you're Adriano. Susana Santos introduces herself, but you can't catch her name. Use formal Portuguese.

Ready?

Eu sou Susana Santos. Prazer.

Poderia repetir, por favor?

Listen again and repeat.

Poderia repetir, por favor?

Let's try one more.

Imagine you're Adriano. Ask Sabrina Santos to speak more slowly.

Ready?

Eu sou Sabrina Santos. Prazer.

Você pode falar mais devagar?

Listen again and repeat.

Você pode falar mais devagar?

Well done! This is the end of this lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to ask for clarification in Portuguese. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of getting clarification on things when you're speaking Portuguese.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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