O calcanhar dela dói quando ela usa sandália nova, mas o tornozelo já está melhor.

Her heel hurts when she wears new sandals, but her ankle is already better.

Breakdown of O calcanhar dela dói quando ela usa sandália nova, mas o tornozelo já está melhor.

• estar: to be
• mas: but
• quando: when
• melhor: better

Questions & Answers about O calcanhar dela dói quando ela usa sandália nova, mas o tornozelo já está melhor.

Why does Portuguese say o calcanhar dela instead of something like her heel?

Portuguese often uses the definite article with body parts, even when ownership is clear.

So:

• o calcanhar dela = literally the heel of hers
• natural English = her heel

This is very common in Portuguese. English prefers a possessive (her heel), but Portuguese often prefers article + noun + dela/dele or just article + noun if the owner is obvious.

Why is it dela and not seu?

Because seu/sua can be ambiguous in Brazilian Portuguese. It can mean:

• his
• her
• your

So o calcanhar dela is clearer than seu calcanhar.

In Brazil, speakers very often use:

• dela = her
• dele = his

especially when they want to avoid confusion.

Why is the verb dói and not doe?