- Complete the sentence: "Desculpe, ontem eu não ___ a solução. Pode explicar de novo?" (entender)
Answer: entendi
With 'eu' and 'ontem', the sentence needs the first-person preterite 'entendi'. 'Entendeu' is also past tense, but it belongs to você/ele/ela, so it doesn't agree with 'eu'.
- A customer service agent explains a solution you don't follow. How do you say "What do you mean?" in Portuguese?
Answer: O que você quer dizer?
'O que você quer dizer?' uses 'querer dizer', which expresses what a person means. 'O que você significa?' is a literal calque: 'significar' fits words or things, not a speaker's intention.
- You're confirming when the repair technician will come. Which sentence is written correctly?
Answer: Então, o técnico vem amanhã às nove, né?
'O técnico vem amanhã às nove' uses singular 'vem', the tilde in 'amanhã' and the crase in 'às' before an hour. The most tempting error is 'as nove': clock times take 'às' (a + as), so the crase is required.
