Minha neta prefere desenhar estrelas e montanhas no quintal.

Because neta is a feminine noun in Portuguese, so the possessive adjective must also be feminine.

• meu = my, used with masculine singular nouns
• minha = my, used with feminine singular nouns

Examples:

• meu neto = my grandson
• minha neta = my granddaughter

So minha neta agrees in gender with neta.

Neta means granddaughter.

The masculine form is neto, which means grandson.

So:

• minha neta = my granddaughter
• meu neto = my grandson

This is a very common masculine/feminine pair in Portuguese.

Prefere is the 3rd person singular present tense form of the verb preferir.

The subject is minha neta, which is she:

• minha neta prefere = my granddaughter prefers

Conjugation of preferir in the present:

• eu prefiro = I prefer
• você/ele/ela prefere = you/he/she prefers
• nós preferimos = we prefer
• vocês/eles/elas preferem = you/they prefer

So prefere matches minha neta.

After preferir, Portuguese normally uses an infinitive when the next verb has the same subject.

So:

• Minha neta prefere desenhar... literally: My granddaughter prefers to draw...

This works like English prefers to draw.

Other examples:

• Eu prefiro estudar. = I prefer to study.
• Ela prefere caminhar. = She prefers to walk.

If the subject changes, Portuguese often uses a different structure:

• Minha neta prefere que eu desenhe. = My granddaughter prefers that I draw.

Because Portuguese often uses the bare infinitive after certain verbs, where English uses to + verb.

So:

• prefere desenhar = prefers to draw

You do not say:

• prefere a desenhar in this sentence

This is normal after verbs like:

• querer: Ela quer sair. = She wants to leave.
• gostar de: Ela gosta de cantar. = She likes singing / likes to sing.
• preferir: Ela prefere desenhar. = She prefers to draw.

It means drawing pictures of stars and mountains, not creating real stars or mountains.

In Portuguese, as in English, verbs like desenhar often take the thing represented as the direct object:

• desenhar estrelas = draw stars
• desenhar montanhas = draw mountains

So the meaning is naturally to draw images of stars and mountains.

They are plural because the sentence says she likes drawing stars and mountains, not just one star or one mountain.

Singular forms:

• estrela = star
• montanha = mountain

Plural forms:

• estrelas = stars
• montanhas = mountains

Portuguese usually forms the plural by adding -s to nouns ending in a vowel.

E means and.

It connects the two nouns:

• estrelas e montanhas = stars and mountains

This is a very common word in Portuguese.

Example:

• pão e queijo = bread and cheese
• sol e lua = sun and moon

No is a contraction of em + o:

• em = in / on / at
• o = the
• em + o = no

So:

• no quintal = in the yard / in the backyard

Portuguese often uses the definite article where English might not think about it as much.

Related forms:

• na = em + a
• nos = em + os
• nas = em + as

Examples:

• na casa = in the house
• no carro = in the car

Quintal usually means a yard, backyard, or outdoor area attached to a house.

In Brazilian Portuguese, it often suggests a private outdoor space behind or around the house, where children might play, people might hang clothes, or plants might grow.

So no quintal here most naturally means:

• in the backyard or
• out in the yard

Grammatically, no quintal attaches most naturally to the activity desenhar, so the intended meaning is:

• My granddaughter prefers to draw stars and mountains in the yard/backyard.

In other words, the drawing happens in the yard.

Even though language can sometimes be ambiguous, in normal use this sentence is understood as describing where she draws, not where the stars and mountains are.

Great question. In Brazilian Portuguese, possessives can appear with or without the definite article, depending on style, region, and context.

So both of these are possible:

• Minha neta prefere...
• A minha neta prefere...

Both mean my granddaughter prefers...

In Brazil, omitting the article before a possessive is very common, especially in straightforward sentences like this one.

You would need to change the verb form and usually the possessive:

• Eu prefiro desenhar estrelas e montanhas no quintal. = I prefer to draw stars and mountains in the yard.

Notice the change:

• minha neta prefere
• eu prefiro

This is because the verb must agree with the subject.

It can be followed by either a noun or an infinitive verb, depending on what you want to say.

With a noun:

• Minha neta prefere lápis de cor. = My granddaughter prefers colored pencils.

With an infinitive:

• Minha neta prefere desenhar. = My granddaughter prefers to draw.

In your sentence, it is followed by desenhar, because the sentence is talking about a preferred activity.

A natural approximate pronunciation is:

MIN-ya NEH-ta preh-FEH-ree deh-zeh-NYAR es-TREH-las ee mon-TAN-yas noo keen-TAU

A few helpful notes:

• minha often sounds like minya
• desenhar has the nh sound, similar to ny in canyon
• montanhas also has nh
• quintal in Brazilian Portuguese often ends with a sound close to tau

Pronunciation varies by region, but this will get you close.