A colega com quem eu fiz a matrícula mora no mesmo bairro que eu.

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Breakdown of A colega com quem eu fiz a matrícula mora no mesmo bairro que eu.

• morar: to live
• no: in the
• mesmo: same

Questions & Answers about A colega com quem eu fiz a matrícula mora no mesmo bairro que eu.

Why is it a colega? Does colega only refer to a woman?

Colega can refer to either a man or a woman. It is a noun with the same form for both genders, so the article shows the gender:

• o colega = a male colleague/classmate
• a colega = a female colleague/classmate

So in this sentence, a tells you the person is female.

What does com quem mean here?

Com quem means with whom.

It is a relative structure:

• com = with
• quem = whom / who

In Portuguese, when the relative pronoun refers to a person and comes after a preposition, quem is very common:

• a pessoa com quem falei = the person with whom I spoke
• a colega com quem fiz a matrícula = the classmate/colleague with whom I enrolled

Why is it com quem and not just quem?