Eu esqueci o celular no sofá.

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Breakdown of Eu esqueci o celular no sofá.

• no: on the
• esquecer: to forget
• o sofá: the sofa

Questions & Answers about Eu esqueci o celular no sofá.

Why does the sentence use o celular and not meu celular, even though in English we usually say my phone?

In Portuguese, it’s very common to use the definite article (o, a, os, as) where English uses a possessive (my, your, etc.), especially when it’s clear whose thing it is from context.

So:

• Eu esqueci o celular no sofá.
  Literally: I forgot *the phone on the couch.
  Naturally understood as: I forgot **my phone on the couch.*

You can say meu celular:

• Eu esqueci meu celular no sofá.

Both are correct. Using o celular is just a bit more neutral and very common in speech when the owner is obvious (the speaker).

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What exactly does no mean in no sofá?

No is a contraction of the preposition em (in, on, at) + the masculine singular article o (the).

• em + o = no
• em + a = na
• em + os = nos
• em + as = nas

So no sofá literally means in/on the sofa.
In this sentence, it’s best translated as on the couch.

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