Learn the key pattern to ask for something at a store
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| Let's take a closer look at how Ben asks for an item without knowing its name. |
| Do you remember how Ben Lee says, |
| "This, please." |
| Isto, por favor. |
| This standard way of asking for something follows a simple pattern. |
| First is isto, "this." Isto. Isto. |
| Isto refers to something which is near the speaker. It can be used for any item, even when you don't know its gender. |
| Ben uses it because he's pointing at something which is near to him. |
| Next is por favor, "please." Por favor. Por favor. |
| All together, it's Isto, por favor. "This, please." |
| Isto, por favor. |
| Let’s take a closer look at the response. |
| Do you remember how the clerk says, |
| "Here it is." |
| Aqui está. |
| First is aqui, "here." Aqui. Aqui. |
| Next is está, "[it] is." Está. Está. |
| Note: está is from the verb estar, meaning "to be." Estar. |
| All together, it's Aqui está. "Here it is." |
| Aqui está. |
| The pattern is |
| ITEM, por favor. |
| ITEM, please. |
| ITEM, por favor. |
| To use this pattern, simply replace the ITEM placeholder with the thing you want. |
| Note: This pattern requires a demonstrative pronoun. |
| Imagine you'd like something from across the room. The pronoun to indicate something far from the speaker is aquilo, "that." Aquilo. Aquilo. |
| Say |
| "That, please." |
| Ready? |
| Aquilo, por favor. |
| "That, please." |
| Aquilo, por favor. |
| The following phrases can be used to refer to a single item without knowing its name in Portuguese: |
| Isto, por favor, “This, please;” and |
| Aquilo, por favor, “That, please.” |
| If you don't know the name of an item, and consequently its gender, you can use isto, "this," and aquilo, "that." |
| Aquilo, "that," is used to refer to something which is very far from both the speaker and listener. |
| Note: isso means “that.” Isso is used to indicate something located near the listener, as opposed to something located near the speaker, isto. |
| Close to speaker |
| Close to the listener |
| Far from both |
| singular |
| isto |
| isso |
| aquilo |
| For plural forms, when you don’t know the name, and consequently its gender, you can use estes, "these," and aqueles, "those." |
| Note: estes, "these," and aqueles, "those," are the masculine. |
| Gender |
| Number |
| Close to speaker |
| Far from both |
| Masculine |
| singular |
| este |
| aquele |
| plural |
| estes |
| aqueles |
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