Breakdown of O meu telemóvel está sem bateria; preciso do carregador agora.
meu
my
estar
to be
agora
now
precisar de
to need
sem
without
o telemóvel
the phone
a bateria
the battery
o carregador
the charger
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Questions & Answers about O meu telemóvel está sem bateria; preciso do carregador agora.
Why is there an article before the possessive in o meu telemóvel?
In European Portuguese, possessive adjectives like meu, teu, seu are normally preceded by a definite article (o, a, os, as). So o meu telemóvel literally means “the my phone.” This article-possessive structure is the standard. In very informal speech or in some regional varieties you might hear the article dropped, but it’s best to include it in writing and formal contexts.
What does sem mean in está sem bateria, and how is it used?
Sem translates to “without.” When you say está sem bateria, you’re literally saying “it is without battery.” In Portuguese, sem + noun is the usual way to express “out of” or “without” something. If you want to emphasise how it happened (it ran out), you can also say ficou sem bateria (“it ran out of battery”).
Could I say meu telemóvel está sem bateria without the article o?
In casual spoken Portuguese some speakers drop the article and say meu telemóvel..., but in standard European Portuguese (both spoken and written) you normally keep the article: o meu telemóvel. Omitting it can sound very colloquial or region-specific.
Why is there a semicolon (;) in this sentence instead of a period?
A semicolon links two closely related independent clauses. Here you have O meu telemóvel está sem bateria and preciso do carregador agora as two separate but connected thoughts. You could use a period, but a semicolon emphasises the direct connection between them.
Why do we contract de + o into do in preciso do carregador?
Portuguese regularly contracts a preposition with a definite article: de + o = do, em + a = na, etc. So preciso do carregador is simply the contracted form of preciso de o carregador.
Why do we need de after preciso? Could we just say preciso o carregador?
The verb precisar in Portuguese always requires the preposition de before its object (unlike English “need” which is direct). You must say preciso de algo. Omitting de (e.g. preciso o carregador) is ungrammatical.
Can I say preciso de um carregador if I don’t mean a specific charger?
Yes. If you need any charger, use the indefinite article: preciso de um carregador agora (“I need a charger now”). In the original sentence they used o carregador because they refer to a particular charger (for example, the one that belongs to someone).
Why is agora at the end of the sentence? Could I place it elsewhere?
You can place agora before or after the verb depending on emphasis. All of these are correct:
• Agora preciso do carregador.
• Preciso agora do carregador.
• Preciso do carregador agora.
Putting it at the end is very common and sounds natural in spoken Portuguese.
In Brazil people often say “celular.” Why does European Portuguese use telemóvel?
European Portuguese uses telemóvel (short for “telefone móvel”) to mean “mobile phone.” In Brazilian Portuguese the everyday term is celular, though telemóvel is understood, especially in more formal or technical contexts. Both words refer to the same device.