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Questions & Answers about O livro dele é novo.
What does the article O mean in this sentence?
O is the masculine singular definite article in Portuguese, equivalent to "the" in English.
Why is dele used instead of the possessive adjective seu?
In European Portuguese, using dele (a disjunctive possessive pronoun) after the noun helps avoid ambiguity. While seu also means "his", it can be confused with "her", "its", or even "your" in some contexts. By saying O livro dele, the sentence clearly means "his book."
Why is dele placed after the noun rather than before it?
Portuguese possesses a different word order compared to English when it comes to possession. In Portuguese, disjunctive possessives like dele always follow the noun (i.e., O livro dele), whereas in English, the possessive adjective comes before the noun (i.e., his book).
How is the adjective novo functioning in this sentence?
The adjective novo means "new" and serves as a predicative adjective linked to the subject O livro dele by the verb é (which means "is"). It describes the state or quality of the book.
Does the structure O livro dele é novo reflect any typical differences in sentence construction between Portuguese and English?
Yes, the sentence highlights two key differences. First, the possessive is expressed post-nominally (after the noun) in Portuguese, unlike the pre-nominal possessive in English. Second, the explicit use of the definite article O before livro is standard in Portuguese, even when a possessive pronoun follows, which is different from English where possession is often indicated solely by the possessive adjective.