Ingls na Ponta da Lngua

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HOW DO YOU SAY SER QUE IN ENGLISH?

Hello guys! Here we are again with another Ingls na Ponta da Lngua
Podcast. On this episode, Ill be answering a question that Ive been often
asked here on the blog: how can we say ser que in English? To make it
much more interesting, Ill also teach you how to say por que ser
que...?, onde ser que...?, como ser que...?, o que ser que...? e
quem ser que...?. So, sit up straight and pay attention! I hope you
enjoy this tip.
In Portuguese, when we are not so
sure about something, it is common
to ask a question using the sentence
ser que...?. To give you an idea of
what Im talking about here, there
you go some examples:

Ser que isso vai funcionar?

Ser que ele vai vir pra festa?

Ser que ela vai conseguir?

Ser que eles j chegaram em casa?

Notice that the sentence ser que...? is being used to express doubt
about something or to show that youre worried about something or
someone. If you speak Portuguese, Im sure you know how that works.
But, what about in English? How do we say that in English?
This very same idea is usually expressed in English by using the
expression I wonder if.... The interesting thing here is that in
Portuguese, we ask a question: ser que...?. But, in English, they just
say I wonder if... and that is not a question at all.
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So, the example sentences I gave above will be said as follow in English:

I wonder if that is going to work. (Ser que isso vai funcionar?)

I wonder if he is coming to the party. (Ser que ele vai vir pra

festa?)

I wonder if shes going to make it. (Ser que ela vai conseguir?)

I wonder if they got home already. (Ser que ele j chegaram em

casa?)
As you can see, its really easy to say ser que...? in English. All you
have to say is I wonder if.... Before going on, I have to add here that
some people also say I wonder whether.... Theres no difference
between them. So, you can say either I wonder if... or I wonder
whether.... The meaning will be exactly the same. However, keep in
mind that I wonder if... is much more common than I wonder
whether....
Now lets say you want to say quem ser que...? What would you say?
How do they say that in English? Pretty easy! Just say I wonder
who.... No big deal, right? Just use the expression I wonder and the
word who, which means quem, after it and thats it. Listen to the
examples:

I wonder who did that to her. (Quem ser que fez isso com ela?)

I wonder who told him that. (Quem ser que contou isso pra ele?)

I wonder who shes going to get married to. (Com quem ser que

ela vai se casar?)

What about por que ser que...?? How to say that in English? Well,
think about it! All you have to do is to use the expression I wonder with
the word why. So, youll have I wonder why.... Again, listen to the
examples:

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I wonder why they are crying. (Por que ser que elas esto

chorando?)

I wonder why hes here. (Por que ser que ele est aqui?)

I wonder why she did that. (Por que ser que ela fez isso?)

If you want to say como ser que...?, just say I wonder how.... Notice
that once more, we have the expression I wonder followed by the word
como in English, which is how.

I wonder how they did that. (Como ser que eles fizeram isso?)

I wonder how shes getting on. (Como ser que ela est se

virando?)

I wonder how he got here first. (Como ser que ele chegou aqui

primeiro?)
By now, I guess you already got the idea. What you have to do is to use the
expression I wonder and change the wh-question word after it. So, to
say onde ser que..., use I wonder where...; o que ser que...?, say
I wonder what....

I wonder where she is now. (Onde sera que ele est agora?)

I wonder where she bought that. (Onde ser que ela comprou

isso?)

I wonder what she wants now. (O que ser que ela quer agora?)

I wonder what she told him. (O que ser que ela disse pra ele?)

Pretty easy, right? The secret, if we can call it a secret, is to use the
expression I wonder and the exact wh-question word after it. Nothing
too hard, is it? To make it simpler, let me put all this info in a different
way:

To say Ser que...?, say I wonder if

To say Quem ser que...?, say I wonder who

To say Por que ser que...?, say I wonder why

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To say Como ser que...?, say I wonder how

To say O que ser que...?, say I wonder what

To say Onde ser que...?, say I wonder where

So, what do you think? Easy? Hard? Anyway, get used to these
expressions. Use them whenever you have the chance to. Search the web
for some more examples. Write your own examples on your lexical
notebook. Make them part of your active vocabulary. Im sure youll be
using them naturally really soon.
Well, thats it for today, boys and girls. Before saying goodbye, I want to
invite you to download other episodes of Ingls na Ponta da Lngua
Podcast on www.inglesanpontadalingua.com. If youre listening to our
podcasts on iTunes, please let me know what youre thinking about all
that work here. Go to iTunes Store and give me some feedback so that I
can make it better for you. See you next time with another Ingls na
Ponta da Lngua Podcast. Take care!

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