Portuguese Phrase
Posso apontar meu lápis?
Meaning
The sentence literally means ‘Can I sharpen my pencil?’ It is a polite request for permission to use a pencil‑sharpener, usually in a classroom or office setting.
When to use
Use this phrase when you need to ask a teacher, colleague, or anyone nearby if it’s okay to sharpen your own pencil. It works both in formal (school, meeting) and informal (friend’s house) contexts, as long as you want to be courteous.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Possoapontarmeulápis?
Posso (poder)
‘Posso’ is the first‑person singular present indicative of the modal verb ‘poder’, used to ask for permission.
apontar (infinitive)
The infinitive verb follows the modal verb and expresses the action you want to do – here, ‘to sharpen’.
meu (possessive adjective)
‘Meu’ agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies; it means ‘my’.
lápis (masculine noun)
‘Lápis’ is a masculine noun that keeps the same form in singular and plural; it takes the article ‘o’ in a full sentence.
Question mark
In Portuguese, the opening ‘?’ is optional in informal writing, but the closing ‘?’ is required.
🗨In Conversation
Posso apontar meu lápis?
Can I sharpen my pencil?
Claro, pode.
Sure, go ahead.
✕Common Mistakes
Posso apontar meu lápis?
‘Apontar’ means ‘to point’; the correct verb for sharpening a pencil is ‘apontar’ in Brazil, but many learners mistakenly use ‘afiar’, which is also correct but less common for pencils.
Posso apontar meu lapis?
The accent on ‘lápis’ is essential; omitting it changes the spelling and can be marked as incorrect.
Ele posso apontar meu lápis?
Using ‘Posso’ with a third‑person subject (e.g., ‘Ele pode…’) is a different construction; keep ‘Posso’ only for first‑person requests.
↔Alternatives
Posso afiar meu lápis?
Can I sharpen my pencil?
Posso usar o apontador?
Can I use the sharpener?
Deixa eu apontar o lápis.
Let me sharpen the pencil.
Cultural Tip
In Brazil, asking permission before using shared classroom supplies is considered polite. While ‘Posso…?’ is perfectly acceptable in any register, you’ll hear a more informal ‘Deixa eu…?’ among friends. Remember that ‘lápis’ never changes form in the plural (os lápis).