Portuguese Phrase
Me empresta uma caneta, por favor?
Meaning
A courteous way to ask someone to lend you a pen. The sentence combines a direct request (empresta) with the polite particle ‘por favor’, making it suitable for both informal and semi‑formal situations.
When to use
Use this phrase when you need a pen in a classroom, office, or any casual setting where you’re speaking to a peer, a colleague, or even a stranger you want to address politely. It works well in Brazil and Portugal alike.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Meemprestaumacanetaporfavor
Me
Clitic pronoun for the first‑person singular object; placed before the verb in affirmative statements.
empresta
3rd‑person singular present indicative of emprestar ‘to lend’; used here as a polite request.
uma
Indefinite article (feminine) meaning ‘a’ or ‘one’; agrees with the feminine noun caneta.
caneta
Feminine noun meaning ‘pen’; common classroom/office object.
por favor
Polite phrase meaning ‘please’; placed at the end of the request.
🗨In Conversation
Me empresta uma caneta, por favor?
Could you lend me a pen, please?
Claro! Aqui está.
Sure! Here you go.
✕Common Mistakes
Me empreste uma caneta, por favor?
‘Empreste’ is the subjunctive form; the request needs the indicative ‘empresta’ unless you’re using a conditional construction.
Me empresta caneta, por favor?
Missing the indefinite article ‘uma’; Portuguese nouns usually need an article unless they’re plural or generic.
Por favor me empresta uma caneta?
While understandable, the natural order places ‘por favor’ at the end of the sentence.
↔Alternatives
Você pode me emprestar uma caneta, por favor?
Could you lend me a pen, please?
Me emprestaria uma caneta?
Would you lend me a pen?
Tem uma caneta que eu possa usar?
Do you have a pen I could use?
Cultural Tip
In Brazilian Portuguese, adding ‘por favor’ at the end of a request is considered essential politeness. If you’re speaking to someone you don’t know well, you might also use the conditional form ‘Me emprestaria…’ to sound even more courteous. In Portugal, the same structure works, but you’ll hear the more formal ‘poderia’ (could) more often.