- A female customer pays, thanks the clerk and leaves. Which farewell is written correctly?
Answer: Muito obrigada, tenha um bom dia!
Muito obrigada is right because muito is an adverb and never changes, while obrigada agrees with the female speaker. Dia ends in -a but is masculine (um bom dia), and it has no accent in Portuguese, unlike Spanish día.
- You pay a taxi driver and want to say "Keep the change." Which is the correct Portuguese?
Answer: Pode ficar com o troco.
Troco is the money returned after you pay, so "Pode ficar com o troco" means "Keep the change." Mudança is a false friend: it means a change in situation or a move, not leftover money.
- At the register you ask: "Quanto ___ estas duas camisetas?"
Answer: custam
The subject is estas duas camisetas, which is third person plural, so the verb must be custam. Custa is the tempting choice, but it only works for one item, as in "Quanto custa esta camiseta?"
- A male customer thanks a clerk for her help as he leaves the store. Which sentence is written correctly?
Answer: Até logo e obrigado pela ajuda!
Thanks in Portuguese take por, and por + a must contract to pela before the feminine noun ajuda. Para a ajuda is tempting because English says thanks for, but obrigado is always followed by por.
