A empresa onde meu tio trabalha fica na avenida perto da praça.

Onde means where and is used for places. In A empresa onde meu tio trabalha..., it connects a empresa with the idea of place: the company where my uncle works.

A native English speaker might expect something more like that or which, but in Portuguese, when the noun refers to a place, onde is very common.

You could also say:

• A empresa em que meu tio trabalha...
• A empresa na qual meu tio trabalha...

These are also correct, but onde is usually the most natural everyday choice here.

Here, fica means is located or is situated, not stays in the sense of remaining somewhere temporarily.

So:

• A empresa... fica na avenida... = The company is located on the avenue...

This is a very common use of ficar in Portuguese when talking about location.

Examples:

• O banco fica no centro. = The bank is downtown.
• Minha casa fica perto da praia. = My house is near the beach.

So when you see ficar with a place expression, think to be located.

Trabalha is the third person singular form of the verb trabalhar in the present tense.

• trabalhar = to work
• ele trabalha = he works

Since meu tio means my uncle, the verb has to match he:

• meu tio trabalha = my uncle works

If you used trabalhar, that would be the infinitive to work, which does not fit here.

These are contractions, which are extremely common in Portuguese.

• em + a = na
• de + a = da

So:

• na avenida = in/on the avenue
• da praça = of/from the square

In the sentence:

• fica na avenida = is on the avenue
• perto da praça = near the square

You should get used to these contractions because they happen all the time in Portuguese:

• no = em + o
• na = em + a
• do = de + o
• da = de + a

In Portuguese, perto normally goes with de.

So the pattern is:

• perto de = near

Examples:

• perto da escola = near the school
• perto do mercado = near the market
• perto de mim = near me

That is why perto da praça is correct. Literally, it is something like near of the square, even though in natural English we just say near the square.

Both are possible in Brazilian Portuguese:

• meu tio
• o meu tio

In Brazil, using the article before possessives is common, but omitting it is also very common, especially in simpler, neutral sentences like this one.

So both of these sound natural:

• A empresa onde meu tio trabalha...
• A empresa onde o meu tio trabalha...

The version without the article is perfectly normal.

Not in standard Portuguese, because the verb trabalhar here relates to a place and needs a preposition.

The standard forms are:

• A empresa onde meu tio trabalha
• A empresa em que meu tio trabalha
• A empresa na qual meu tio trabalha

A form like A empresa que meu tio trabalha leaves out the needed connection to place, so it sounds wrong in standard grammar.

Because empresa is a feminine noun in Portuguese. That is why it uses:

• a empresa = the company

Other words in the sentence are also feminine:

• a avenida
• a praça

This matters because articles and some other words have to agree in gender:

• a empresa
• na avenida = em + a avenida
• da praça = de + a praça

Gender in Portuguese is grammatical, so it is something you usually have to learn together with each noun.

Portuguese uses definite articles more often than English does. In this sentence you have:

• A empresa
• na avenida
• da praça

In English, we might sometimes omit an article depending on context, but Portuguese often keeps it, especially with specific nouns and locations.

So na avenida perto da praça sounds natural if the speaker has a particular avenue and square in mind.

Yes, to some extent. The sentence you have is natural and clear, but Portuguese allows some flexibility.

For example, you could also say:

• A empresa fica na avenida perto da praça onde meu tio trabalha.

But that changes the meaning, because now onde meu tio trabalha may sound like it refers to praça, not empresa.

You could also say:

• A empresa, onde meu tio trabalha, fica na avenida perto da praça.

This is more marked and written in style.

The original sentence is the clearest and most natural way to say that the company where my uncle works is located near the square.

In English, the natural translation is usually on the avenue. Portuguese uses em for many kinds of location where English may use in, on, or at.

So:

• fica na avenida = is on the avenue
• fica na rua = is on the street
• fica na praça = is in the square / on the square, depending on context

Do not translate em too literally every time. It is better to learn the natural English equivalent case by case.

In Brazilian Portuguese, trabalha is pronounced roughly like trah-BA-lya.

The lh sound is important. It is similar to the lli sound in the English word million for many speakers, though not exactly the same.

So:

• trabalha ≈ trah-BA-lya

A few pronunciation notes for the whole sentence:

• empresa ≈ em-PRE-zah
• onde ≈ ON-jee or ON-djee in many Brazilian accents
• trabalha ≈ trah-BA-lya
• fica ≈ FEE-kah
• avenida ≈ ah-veh-NEE-dah
• praça ≈ PRA-sah

These are only rough guides, but they can help you get started.

In standard usage, onde is mainly for physical or metaphorical places.

Good example:

• A empresa onde meu tio trabalha = a place

But with non-place nouns, Portuguese normally prefers em que, no qual, na qual, etc.

For example:

• A situação em que estou = the situation I am in

Not usually:

• A situação onde estou

In everyday speech, some people do use onde more broadly, but for learners, the safest rule is:

• use onde for places
• use em que / no qual / na qual for other kinds of nouns

Usually, yes. Because of fica, the sentence sounds like it is stating where the company is located as a general fact.

• A empresa onde meu tio trabalha fica na avenida perto da praça.

This suggests a normal, stable location.

If you were talking about a temporary event or setup, Portuguese might use different wording depending on the context. But for buildings, businesses, offices, and landmarks, ficar is exactly what you would expect.