A dor no meu joelho fica pior quando eu caminho muito.

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Breakdown of A dor no meu joelho fica pior quando eu caminho muito.

• caminhar: to walk
• meu: my
• quando: when

Questions & Answers about A dor no meu joelho fica pior quando eu caminho muito.

Why does the sentence start with A dor instead of just dor?

In Portuguese, it is very common to use the definite article with general or specific nouns, especially when talking about something identifiable in context.

So A dor means the pain. In this sentence, it refers to a specific pain the speaker has.

Portuguese uses articles more often than English does, so where English might sometimes say just pain, Portuguese often prefers a dor.

Why is it no meu joelho and not just em meu joelho?

No is a contraction of em + o, meaning in/on the.

• em o joelho → no joelho
• em + meu joelho still keeps the article in normal Brazilian Portuguese usage:
  • em o meu joelho → no meu joelho

So no meu joelho means in/on my knee.

Using em meu joelho is grammatically possible in some styles, but it sounds less natural in everyday Brazilian Portuguese. No meu joelho is the normal choice.

Why is it meu joelho and not o meu joelho by itself?