Pedidos e cortesia (suavizar o imperativo)
Pedidos e cortesia (suavizar o imperativo) means “Making polite requests (softening the bare imperative)”. In Brazilian Portuguese the bare imperative (Fecha a porta. Formation: Você pode/poderia + inf? / Dá pra + inf? / Me + presente? / Eu queria/gostaria de + N
Making polite requests (softening the bare imperative)
B1Formation
Você pode/poderia + inf? / Dá pra + inf? / Me + presente? / Eu queria/gostaria de + N
Explanation
In Brazilian Portuguese the bare imperative (Fecha a porta!) can sound abrupt for everyday requests, so speakers usually turn the order into a question. The most common softeners are 'Você pode + infinitive?' (Você pode fechar a porta?) and the more polite conditional 'Você poderia + infinitive?'. Very colloquial is 'Dá pra + infinitive?' (Dá pra abaixar o volume?), and 'Será que...?' adds even more hedging (Será que dá pra me ajudar?). A soft request can also be 'Me + verb in the present?' (Me passa o sal?). To ask for objects, use the imperfect for politeness ('Eu queria um café') or the more formal conditional ('Eu gostaria de...'). Spanish learners have strong transfer here (¿Puedes/Podrías...?, ¿Me pasas...?, Quería/Querría), but 'Dá pra...?' is distinctively Brazilian.
Examples
Note
'Dá pra...?' is invariable (always 'dá', 3rd person singular) and very colloquial; don't use it in formal writing. 'Você poderia' is the safe all-purpose polite form. Note the difference: 'Eu quero' = I want (blunt), while 'Eu queria/gostaria' = I'd like (polite).
FAQ
Pedidos e cortesia (suavizar o imperativo) — what does it mean and how is it used?
Making polite requests (softening the bare imperative). In Brazilian Portuguese the bare imperative (Fecha a porta!) can sound abrupt for everyday requests, so speakers usually turn the order into a question. The most common softeners are 'Você pode + infinitive?' (Você pode fechar a porta?) and the more polite conditional 'Você poderia + infinitive?'. Very colloquial is 'Dá pra + infinitive?' (Dá pra abaixar o volume?), and 'Será que...?' adds even more hedging (Será que dá pra me ajudar?). A soft request can also be 'Me + verb in the present?' (Me passa o sal?). To ask for objects, use the imperfect for politeness ('Eu queria um café') or the more formal conditional ('Eu gostaria de...'). Spanish learners have strong transfer here (¿Puedes/Podrías...?, ¿Me pasas...?, Quería/Querría), but 'Dá pra...?' is distinctively Brazilian.
Pedidos e cortesia (suavizar o imperativo) — how do you form it?
Você pode/poderia + inf? / Dá pra + inf? / Me + presente? / Eu queria/gostaria de + N
Pedidos e cortesia (suavizar o imperativo) — any usage notes?
'Dá pra...?' is invariable (always 'dá', 3rd person singular) and very colloquial; don't use it in formal writing. 'Você poderia' is the safe all-purpose polite form. Note the difference: 'Eu quero' = I want (blunt), while 'Eu queria/gostaria' = I'd like (polite).