Portuguese Phrase
Com quem você falou?
Meaning
Literally, “With whom did you talk?” It is used to ask the listener about the person they spoke with in a past conversation. The question is neutral and works in both informal and semi‑formal settings.
When to use
Use this sentence when you want to know the identity of the person someone has just spoken to – for example after a meeting, a phone call, or a group discussion. It’s common in everyday conversation, in the workplace, or when catching up with friends.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Comquemvocêfalou?
Preposition + interrogative pronoun
In Portuguese the preposition ‘com’ (with) is placed before the interrogative pronoun ‘quem’ to ask about a person.
Subject pronoun ‘você’
‘Você’ is the neutral second‑person pronoun in Brazil; it behaves like a third‑person singular noun, so the verb agrees in the third‑person form.
Preterite of ‘falar’
‘Falou’ is the simple past (pretérito perfeito) of ‘falar’; it is used for a completed action in the past.
No inversion needed
When a preposition‑pronoun phrase (com quem) starts the question, the verb stays after the subject – no subject‑verb inversion is required.
🗨In Conversation
Com quem você falou?
Who did you talk to?
Falei com a Ana sobre o projeto.
I talked with Ana about the project.
✕Common Mistakes
Com que você falou?
‘Que’ means ‘what’ or ‘that’; the correct interrogative for a person is ‘quem’.
Falou com quem?
While understandable, the natural order in Portuguese is ‘Com quem você falou?’. The preposition should precede the interrogative pronoun.
Com quem você falaste?
‘Falaste’ is the second‑person singular form used with ‘tu’. If you keep ‘você’, you must use ‘falou’. Mixing ‘você’ with ‘falaste’ is incorrect.
↔Alternatives
Com quem você conversou?
Who did you converse with?
Com quem você esteve falando?
Who were you talking with?
Você falou com quem?
You talked with who?
Cultural Tip
In Brazil, ‘você’ is the default second‑person pronoun, but in some regions (especially the South) people still use ‘tu’. If you switch to ‘tu’, the verb must change to ‘falaste’. Also, placing the preposition before the interrogative pronoun (com quem) is the most natural order; putting the pronoun first (quem com) sounds awkward. When speaking formally, you can replace ‘você’ with ‘o senhor/a senhora’ for extra politeness.