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Portuguese Phrase

Claro, o que você estava tomando?

/ˈklaɾu u ˈke vuˈse esˈta.vɐ toˈmɐ̃̃dʒi/
Meaning"Sure, what were you drinking?"
💡

Meaning

The speaker confirms interest or willingness and then asks the listener to specify what they were drinking or taking at that moment. It’s a friendly, informal way to keep the conversation going.

🎯

When to use

Use this sentence in casual conversations when someone mentions they were having a drink, a beverage, or even medication, and you want to know exactly what it was.

✦Grammar Breakdown

Claro,oquevocêestavatomando?

1

Claro (interjection)

Used to express agreement, confirmation or willingness, similar to “Sure” or “Of course”.

2

o que (interrogative pronoun)

Introduces a question about something unknown; literally “what”.

3

você (subject pronoun)

Second‑person singular pronoun, common in informal Brazilian Portuguese.

4

estava + gerúndio (imperfeito progressivo)

The imperfect of “estar” + gerund forms a past progressive (“was …ing”).

5

tomar (verb)

Means “to take” or “to drink” in Brazil; the gerund “tomando” translates to “drinking/taking”.

🗨In Conversation

A

Eu estava tomando um suco de laranja.

I was drinking an orange juice.

Claro, o que você estava tomando?

Sure, what were you drinking?

B

✕Common Mistakes

  • Claro, o que você estava tomar?

    Missing the gerund; you need “tomando” to express the ongoing past action.

  • Claro, o que você estava tomava?

    Mixes two past tenses; use either “estava tomando” (progressive) or “tomava” (simple imperfect).

  • Claro, o que estava você tomando?

    Pronoun order is wrong; the subject pronoun comes before the verb.

↔Alternatives

  • Claro, o que você estava bebendo?

    Sure, what were you drinking?

  • Entendi, o que você estava tomando?

    Got it, what were you drinking?

  • Então, o que você estava tomando?

    So, what were you drinking?

pt

Cultural Tip

In Brazil, the verb tomar is the default word for “to drink” (e.g., tomar água, tomar café). If you want to stress the act of drinking rather than taking, you can use beber, but tomar sounds more natural in everyday speech. “Claro” is informal; in a formal setting you might replace it with “Com certeza” or “Certamente”.