Breakdown of O domingo é um dia tranquilo para minha família.
Questions & Answers about O domingo é um dia tranquilo para minha família.
In Portuguese, days of the week are masculine nouns and are often used with the definite article (o, a, os, as) when they act as the subject of the sentence.
- O domingo é um dia tranquilo…
= Sunday is a calm day… (as a general statement about Sundays)
You can say:
- Domingo é um dia tranquilo para minha família.
This is also correct and quite common, especially in Brazil. The difference is subtle:
- With o domingo, it can sound a bit more like you’re talking about “Sunday as a concept” or “that part of the week”.
- Without the article (Domingo), it feels a bit more neutral or conversational.
In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, both are acceptable; regional and personal style often decide which sounds more natural.
Yes. Both domingo and dia are masculine nouns.
- domingo → masculine → o domingo (the Sunday)
- dia → masculine → um dia (a day)
Notice that dia ends in -a, but it is still masculine. Gender in Portuguese is grammatical, not always based on endings, although many masculine nouns end in -o and many feminine nouns end in -a.
Other examples of masculine nouns ending in -a:
- o problema (the problem)
- o mapa (the map)
- o tema (the theme/topic)
You just have to memorize the gender of these exceptions.
Adjectives in Portuguese agree with the noun they describe.
In O domingo é um dia tranquilo para minha família, the adjective tranquilo is describing dia, not família.
- dia is masculine → um dia tranquilo
If you changed the noun, the adjective would change too:
- A tarde é tranquila. (The afternoon is calm.)
- tarde is feminine → tranquila
The phrase para minha família is just a prepositional phrase indicating for whom the day is calm; tranquilo is not describing família here.
The possessive must agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies.
- família is feminine singular.
- The corresponding possessive is minha (my).
So:
- minha família = my family
If it were a masculine noun, you’d use meu:
- meu irmão (my brother)
- meu carro (my car)
And for plural:
- minhas famílias (my families)
- meus irmãos (my brothers)
In Portuguese, especially in Brazil, using the definite article before possessives is often optional, especially in speech:
- a minha família
- minha família
Both are correct in Brazilian Portuguese.
Nuances:
- In Brazilian Portuguese:
- a minha família: a bit more formal or emphatic.
- minha família: very common and natural in everyday speech.
- In European Portuguese: the article is much more common and often sounds more natural: a minha família.
In the sentence O domingo é um dia tranquilo para minha família, omitting the article sounds perfectly natural in Brazilian Portuguese.
Both para and por can translate as for, but they have different core meanings.
- para → destination, purpose, goal, recipient (who something is for)
- por → cause, reason, duration, exchange, means
In O domingo é um dia tranquilo para minha família:
- para minha família means “for my family” in the sense of “from my family’s perspective / as far as my family is concerned”. They are the recipients of that description.
If you used por here (por minha família), it would sound more like:
- “because of my family”
- “on behalf of my family”
which is not the intended meaning.
Examples:
Comprei este presente para você.
I bought this present for you (you receive it).Fiz isso por você.
I did this for you (on your behalf / because of you).
Yes, that word order is very natural:
- Para minha família, o domingo é um dia tranquilo.
Putting Para minha família at the beginning emphasizes “for my family”:
- First you establish the point of view (Para minha família…),
- Then you make the statement (o domingo é um dia tranquilo).
Both versions are correct:
- O domingo é um dia tranquilo para minha família.
- Para minha família, o domingo é um dia tranquilo.
The difference is mainly a matter of emphasis and style, not grammar.
You can only drop O domingo if it is very clear from the context what you’re talking about.
- É um dia tranquilo para minha família.
= It is a calm day for my family.
This would work if someone just asked:
- Como é o domingo para sua família? (How is Sunday for your family?)
– É um dia tranquilo para minha família.
But if you say É um dia tranquilo para minha família out of nowhere, people won’t automatically know you mean domingo; it will just sound like “It’s a calm day for my family.”
In Portuguese, ser (é) and estar (está) are different:
- ser: essential, permanent, or typical characteristics
- estar: temporary states or conditions
In O domingo é um dia tranquilo para minha família, you’re saying that Sunday is typically / generally a calm day for your family. It’s a usual characteristic → use é (from ser).
You could use estar in a specific, temporary context, for example:
- Hoje o domingo está tranquilo para minha família.
Today, Sunday is calm for my family (this time, unusually or just today).
or:
- Este domingo está bem tranquilo para minha família.
This particular Sunday is quite calm for my family.
So:
- General description or habit → é
- Temporary, specific situation → está
In standard Brazilian Portuguese, a rough pronunciation guide (stressed syllables in CAPS):
- O domingo é um dia tranquilo para minha família.
/u doˈMĨ.gu ɛ̃w̃ ˈdʒi.a trɐ̃ˈKI.lu ˈpa.ɾɐ ˈmĩ.ɲɐ faˈMI.ʎɐ/
Key points:
- O at the start → sounds like [u], similar to “oo” in “food” but shorter.
- domingo → do-MING-go; the m before i makes the i nasal: MĨ.
- dia → DEE-a (two syllables: di-a).
- tranquilo → tran-KWI-lo or tran-KEE-lo depending on accent; the qu is like “k” plus a light “w” or “ee” sound.
- minha → MEE-nya, with a soft “ny” sound (like Spanish ñ).
- família → fa-MEE-lya; the lh in -ília is like “ly” (similar to Italian figlio or “milion” in some English accents).
These are approximations; exact sounds vary by region, but this will be understood everywhere in Brazil.
Yes, you can say:
- para minha família
- para a minha família
Both are grammatically correct in Brazilian Portuguese.
- Adding a (the feminine article) emphasizes “the”: for the my family, roughly.
- In Brazilian usage, the article is often dropped before possessives, so para minha família is very common.
In spoken Brazilian Portuguese, para often becomes pra:
- pra minha família (= para a minha família, simplified)
- Some speakers also say pra a minha família, but in fast speech the a tends to disappear: pra minha família.
So all of these are possible (from more to less formal):
- para a minha família
- para minha família
- pra minha família (very colloquial/spoken)
You would make everything plural:
- Os domingos são dias tranquilos para minha família.
Breakdown:
- Os domingos = Sundays
- o domingo → os domingos
- são = are (3rd person plural of ser)
- dias tranquilos = calm days
- um dia tranquilo → dias tranquilos (both noun and adjective become plural)
- para minha família = for my family (unchanged)
So the sentence in plural maintains the same structure, just with plural forms.
tranquilo is a very common adjective in Brazilian Portuguese. It can mean:
- calm, peaceful, quiet
- relaxed, easygoing
- “no problem” (in some informal uses: Tá tranquilo. = It’s fine / No worries.)
In this sentence, it suggests that Sunday is peaceful/relaxed for the family.
Common near-synonyms:
- calmo – calm, not agitated
- relaxado / relaxante – relaxed / relaxing
- pacífico – peaceful
- sossegado – quiet, peaceful (very colloquial/regional in feel)
Examples:
- O domingo é um dia calmo para minha família.
- O domingo é um dia bem sossegado para minha família.
tranquilo is probably the most versatile and colloquial-sounding choice here.