Breakdown of Minha mãe faz um bolo de chocolate delicioso para cada festa de aniversário.
Questions & Answers about Minha mãe faz um bolo de chocolate delicioso para cada festa de aniversário.
Faz is the simple present form of fazer for ele / ela / você (he/she/you):
- ela faz = she makes / she does
Portuguese uses the simple present to talk about habits and routines, just like English:
- Minha mãe faz um bolo... = My mother makes a cake... (habitually)
You’d use fazendo for a continuous action:
- Minha mãe está fazendo um bolo. = My mother is making a cake (right now).
You don’t need a after faz; the verb can go directly before the object: faz um bolo.
In Portuguese, possessive adjectives agree in gender and number with the thing possessed, not with the possessor.
- mãe (mother) is feminine singular → use minha
- pai (father) is masculine singular → use meu
Examples:
- minha mãe = my mother
- meu pai = my father
- minhas irmãs = my sisters
- meus irmãos = my brothers / my siblings
Yes, in Brazilian Portuguese you can say:
- Minha mãe faz um bolo...
- A minha mãe faz um bolo...
Both are possible. In Brazil, with close family members (mãe, pai, irmã, etc.), it’s very common to drop the article, especially in everyday speech. Using a minha mãe can sound a bit more emphatic or a bit closer to European Portuguese style, but it’s still normal in Brazil.
So the version in the sentence is the very natural, everyday choice.
Um is the indefinite article (“a / one”).
- um bolo = a cake / one cake
- o bolo = the cake (a specific cake already known in context)
- Just bolo (no article) is usually not used the way English uses bare “cake,” except in certain fixed expressions or lists.
Here we’re talking about one cake each time, not some specific, already-known cake, so um bolo (a cake) is the natural choice.
Literally, yes: bolo de chocolate = “cake of chocolate.”
But functionally, bolo de chocolate is just how Portuguese says “chocolate cake.” The preposition de is used to show:
- material / content:
- bolo de chocolate = chocolate cake
- suco de laranja = orange juice
- mesa de madeira = wooden table
So you should think of de here as “made of / with / flavored with,” even though we don’t say “cake of chocolate” in natural English.
In Portuguese, the default position for adjectives is after the noun:
- bolo delicioso = delicious cake
- bolo de chocolate delicioso = delicious chocolate cake
You can sometimes put adjectives before the noun (e.g. um delicioso bolo de chocolate), but that:
- is more literary, emotional, or emphatic, and
- sometimes slightly changes the nuance.
So the most neutral, everyday order is:
- bolo (noun) + de chocolate (prepositional phrase) + delicioso (adjective)
Adjectives in Portuguese must agree with the gender and number of the noun they describe.
- bolo is masculine singular → delicioso
- festa is feminine singular → festa grande (big party), not festa grandeo
Examples:
- um bolo delicioso (masc. sing.) = a delicious cake
- uma festa deliciosa (fem. sing.) = a delightful party
- bolos deliciosos (masc. plural) = delicious cakes
- festas deliciosas (fem. plural) = delightful parties
So here, delicioso matches bolo.
Both can appear in similar contexts, but they focus on different ideas:
para cada festa de aniversário
- literally “for each birthday party”
- emphasizes purpose / intended recipient / occasion
- fits well with something that is prepared for that event
em cada festa de aniversário
- literally “in/on each birthday party”
- emphasizes location/time (“at every party”)
- often used to describe what happens during the party
In your sentence, we’re talking about what she makes for each party, so para cada festa de aniversário is the natural choice.
Para and por are both often translated as “for,” but they have different main uses.
para → destination, recipient, purpose, deadlines
- um presente para você = a present for you
- para cada festa = for each party (intended for that occasion)
por → cause, reason, duration, exchange, movement through
- fiz isso por você = I did this because of you / on your behalf
- por três horas = for three hours
- passar por aqui = to go through here
In para cada festa, we’re talking about the intended occasion, so para is correct.
The word cada (each / every) is normally used without an article afterward:
- cada festa = each party
- cada pessoa = each person
- cada dia = each day
You wouldn’t say para a cada festa; that’s ungrammatical.
So the structure is simply: para + cada + noun.
Literally:
- festa de aniversário = “party of birthday,” i.e., birthday party.
Here, de marks a relationship similar to “of” or “for”:
- festa de casamento = wedding party/reception (party for a wedding)
- festa de Natal = Christmas party (party for Christmas)
So festa de aniversário is the standard way to say “birthday party.” It’s a fixed, very common expression.
You can, but it slightly changes the nuance.
para cada festa de aniversário
- for each birthday party (focusing on the party events)
todo aniversário
- every birthday / every birthday year (focusing a bit more on the occasion/time “each birthday,” which usually includes a party in context)
In many real situations, they overlap, but cada festa de aniversário is more explicit about the event (the party) rather than just the date or the anniversary itself.
In this sentence, faz expresses a habitual action:
- Minha mãe faz um bolo...
= My mother makes a delicious chocolate cake for every birthday party.
(She does this regularly, every time there’s a party.)
Portuguese simple present is used for:
- Habits/routines:
- Eu estudo português. = I study Portuguese.
- General truths:
- A Terra gira. = The Earth rotates.
- Actions happening now (more in informal speech):
- O que você faz? = What are you doing? / What do you do?
Here, the context “para cada festa de aniversário” makes it clear it’s about a repeated habit.