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Nós parabenizamos Ana no aniversário dela.

Nós parabenizamos Ana no aniversário dela.
We congratulate Ana on her birthday.
FromLesson 8inHardcore Portuguese (Brazil)

Breakdown of Nós parabenizamos Ana no aniversário dela.

Ana
Ana
nós
we
dela
her
no
on the
o aniversário
the birthday
parabenizar
to congratulate

Questions & Answers about Nós parabenizamos Ana no aniversário dela.

Can I use congratular instead of parabenizar here?
Although congratular exists in Portuguese, it is very rare in Brazilian Portuguese. Native speakers almost always use parabenizar to congratulate someone on their birthday or special occasion. Congratular sounds formal, bookish or like a direct translation from English.
How do I conjugate parabenizar for nós?

Parabenizar is a regular -ar verb. To form the present tense for nós:

  1. Remove -ar from parabenizar → parabeniz-
  2. Add -amos → parabenizamos

Full present‐tense paradigm:

  • eu parabenizo
  • tu parabenizas
  • ele/ela parabeniza
  • nós parabenizamos
  • vós parabenizais
  • eles/elas parabenizam
Why do we say no aniversário dela and not em o aniversário dela?

In Portuguese prepositions combine with definite articles. Here:

  • em
    • o → no
  • em
    • a → na

So instead of em o aniversário dela, you contract to no aniversário dela.

Could we also say pelo aniversário dela instead of no aniversário dela?

Yes. pelo is por + o, and you can say:
Nós parabenizamos Ana pelo aniversário dela.

Nuance:

  • no aniversário = “on her birthday” (indicates time)
  • pelo aniversário = “for her birthday” (indicates reason)

Both are correct, but no aniversário is more common when you mean “on the day of her birthday.”

Why is dela used instead of seu in aniversário dela?
The possessives seu/sua can refer to “his,” “hers,” “yours” or “theirs,” so they’re ambiguous. To be clear, speakers often use dele (his) or dela (hers). Here, since Ana is female, dela unambiguously means “her.”
Is the article a necessary before Ana? Why parabenizamos Ana and not parabenizamos a Ana?

In Brazilian Portuguese, the definite article before a person’s name is optional. Both forms are correct:

  • parabenizamos a Ana (common in many regions)
  • parabenizamos Ana (more neutral or formal)

Use whichever sounds more natural to you; the meaning is the same.

Can I say dar parabéns instead of parabenizar?

Yes. A very common alternative is:
Nós damos parabéns à Ana no aniversário dela.
Note that dar parabéns takes an indirect object, so a Ana contracts to à Ana. This phrasing is equally correct and often even more colloquial.

Can we drop the subject pronoun nós and just say parabenizamos Ana no aniversário dela?

Yes. Portuguese allows omitting the subject pronoun when the verb ending makes the subject clear:
Parabenizamos Ana no aniversário dela.
Including nós isn’t wrong and is common for emphasis or clarity, especially in speech.

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