Ela colocou a mão no ombro da filha e sorriu.

and

Breakdown of Ela colocou a mão no ombro da filha e sorriu.

• a filha: the daughter
• ela: she
• da: of the

Questions & Answers about Ela colocou a mão no ombro da filha e sorriu.

What tense are colocou and sorriu?

Both are in the pretérito perfeito, the tense usually used for completed actions in the past.

• ela colocou = she put / placed
• (ela) sorriu = she smiled

In this sentence, the two actions happen as finished events in sequence:

1. she put her hand on her daughter’s shoulder
2. she smiled

Why does Portuguese say a mão instead of sua mão?

Portuguese very often uses the definite article with body parts, especially when the owner is already clear from the context.

So:

• colocou a mão literally = put the hand
• but naturally it means = put her hand

In English, we usually prefer the possessive: her hand. In Portuguese, that would often sound less natural here unless you need extra emphasis or clarification.

What does no ombro mean exactly?

No is a contraction of:

• em + o = no

So:

• no ombro = literally in/on the shoulder

Even though em often means in, Portuguese uses it in many places where English uses on. In this sentence, no ombro is best understood as:

• on the shoulder

So colocou a mão no ombro = put her hand on the shoulder