Learn the key pattern to ask about well-being
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| Let's take a closer look at the conversation. |
| Do you remember how Mark asks Carlos |
| "How are you?" |
| Tudo bem? |
| First is tudo, "everything." Tudo. Tudo. |
| Next is bem, "well." Bem. Bem. |
| All together, it's Tudo bem, literally "[Is] everything well?" but translates as "How are you," in this context. |
| Note the rising intonation to mark that it's a question: Tudo bem? |
| Tudo bem? |
| Note: To increase the formality, address the person with a title. |
| For example, if you are talking to a man: |
| Tudo bem com o senhor? |
| This starts with Tudo bem, "I'm fine." |
| Next is com o senhor. |
| This starts with com, "with." Com. Com. |
| Last is o senhor, literally "the sir." It translates as "sir" in this context. O senhor. |
| In Portuguese, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. Senhor is masculine and singular — a fact that determines the form of other words in the sentence. |
| Before this is the article, o. Think of it like "the" in English. O. O. |
| O is also masculine singular to agree with senhor. |
| Note: in this sentence, the article, o, does not have a corresponding English translation. |
| All together Tudo bem com o senhor? |
| Literally "[Is] everything well with sir?" but translates as "How are you, sir?" |
| Tudo bem com o senhor? |
| To address a female speaker, use a senhora, "ma'am." |
| Tudo bem com a senhora? |
| How are you, ma'am? |
| Remember this variation. You'll need it for the practice section. |
| Let's take a closer look at the response. |
| Do you remember how Carlos says, |
| "I'm fine, thank you." |
| Tudo bem, obrigado. |
| First is tudo, "everything." Tudo. |
| Next is bem, "well." Bem. |
| Together is tudo bem, literally "everything well," but translates as "I'm fine," in this context. |
| Last is obrigado, which literally means "obliged" or "indebted," but translates as "thank you." Obrigado. Obrigado. |
| Note: Obrigado is an adjective. In Portuguese, adjectives must agree with the noun they modify. As Carlos is talking about himself, he uses the masculine adjective, obrigado. |
| A female speaker would use the feminine adjective, obrigada, to talk about herself. Obrigada. |
| All together, Tudo bem, obrigado. "I'm fine, thank you." Tudo bem, obrigado. |
| Tudo bem, obrigado. |
| When responding to a question about your wellbeing, you can use the opportunity to inquire about the other person's wellbeing. |
| This is illustrated in the following exchange: |
| Tudo bem? |
| Tudo bem, e você? |
| "I'm fine, and you?" |
| This starts with Tudo bem, "I'm fine." |
| Next, you can inquire about the other person's wellbeing with E você? "And you?" |
| First is e, "And." E. E. |
| Next is você, meaning "you," in this context. Você. Você. |
| Note, as você, "you," is informal, this expression is appropriate for informal situations. |
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