Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Fico orgulhoso quando vejo a minha amiga conquistar os seus objetivos. - I feel proud when I see my friend achieving her goals.

Fico orgulhoso literally means “I become / get / end up proud.”
- ficar + adjective = a change of state or a reaction to something.
- So here: Whenever I see that, I (then) feel proud.
Estou orgulhoso = “I am proud (right now / in this situation).”
- estar + adjective = a current, possibly temporary state.
Sou orgulhoso = “I am a proud person (by nature, as a characteristic).”
- ser + adjective = a permanent or defining characteristic.

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about what they feel as a reaction to seeing the friend achieve her goals, so fico orgulhoso is the most natural.

Does orgulhoso have to agree with the speaker’s gender?

Yes. Orgulhoso is a masculine adjective; orgulhosa is feminine.

A man would say: Fico orgulhoso quando…
A woman would say: Fico orgulhosa quando…

The adjective agrees with the person who is proud (the subject eu, the speaker), not with amiga. So even though amiga is feminine, if the speaker is male, it still must be orgulhoso.

Why is it a minha amiga and not just minha amiga?

In European Portuguese, it is very common (almost default) to use the definite article before possessives:

a minha amiga
o meu pai
as minhas chaves

So a minha amiga is the normal European form and sounds very natural.

In Brazilian Portuguese, you more often hear minha amiga (without the article), though a minha amiga is also possible.

For European Portuguese learners:

Use o / a / os / as before meu, minha, teu, tua, seu, sua, nosso, nossa, etc. in most contexts:
- Vou encontrar-me com a minha amiga.
- Perdi o meu telemóvel.

Could I say vejo a minha amiga a conquistar os seus objetivos instead of vejo a minha amiga conquistar…?

Yes, especially in European Portuguese, vejo a minha amiga a conquistar os seus objetivos is also possible and natural.

You have two main patterns after verbs of perception like ver, ouvir, sentir:

ver + object + infinitive
- Vejo a minha amiga conquistar os seus objetivos.
- Similar to English “I see my friend achieve / achieving her goals.”
ver + object + a + infinitive
- Vejo a minha amiga a conquistar os seus objetivos.
- Also very common in European Portuguese; it can feel a bit more process-focused, like “I see her in the process of achieving her goals.”

Both are grammatically correct; the difference is subtle, and both are good models to copy.

Why is conquistar used here? Is it the same as alcançar or atingir?

All of these can be used with objetivos, but with slightly different nuances:

conquistar objetivos – literally “to conquer goals”
- Suggests effort, struggle, achievement after hard work.
- Has a bit of an emotional or triumphant tone.
alcançar objetivos – “to reach goals”
- Very common, slightly more neutral.
atingir objetivos – also “to reach / hit goals”
- Common in more formal or technical contexts (business, reports, etc.).

In everyday speech, conquistar os seus objetivos is very natural and has the positive, “hard‑won success” feeling that fits this emotional sentence.

Why is it os seus objetivos and not just seus objetivos?

Again, in European Portuguese, you normally use the definite article with possessives:

os seus objetivos
as suas ideias
o seu trabalho

So os seus objetivos is the regular European form.

In Brazilian Portuguese, seus objetivos (without os) is more usual in speech, though os seus objetivos is also correct.

Could seus here refer to someone else’s objectives, not the friend’s?

In theory, yes: seus / suas can be ambiguous in Portuguese — they might refer to ele / ela / você / vocês / eles / elas depending on context.

In this specific sentence:

a minha amiga conquistar os seus objetivos
The most natural reading is that seus objetivos = os objetivos da minha amiga (her goals), because she is the last person mentioned.

If you want to be 100% clear and avoid any possible ambiguity, you can say:

…a minha amiga conquistar os objetivos dela.

Both are correct; os objetivos dela is more explicit, os seus objetivos is a bit more formal and compact.

Why is it conquistar os seus objetivos and not conquistar dos seus objetivos?

Because conquistar is a direct transitive verb here – it takes a direct object without a preposition:

conquistar algo
- conquistar os seus objetivos
- conquistar um prémio
- conquistar a vitória

You would use de / do / da / dos / das if the noun was a complement of another noun, for example:

a conquista dos seus objetivos = “the conquest of her goals”

But with the verb conquistar, you go straight to the object:

Ela conquistou os seus objetivos. ✔️
Ela conquistou dos seus objetivos. ✖️ (incorrect)

Can I change the word order and say Quando vejo a minha amiga conquistar os seus objetivos, fico orgulhoso?

Yes. Both orders are correct and natural:

Fico orgulhoso quando vejo a minha amiga conquistar os seus objetivos.
Quando vejo a minha amiga conquistar os seus objetivos, fico orgulhoso.

Putting the quando clause first is often used to set the context and give a bit of emphasis to the condition:

Quando vejo… fico orgulhoso.

It’s very similar to English word order flexibility:
“I feel proud when I see my friend achieve her goals” vs
“When I see my friend achieve her goals, I feel proud.”

Why is the verb vejo in the present tense and not something like a future form?

Portuguese, like English, uses the simple present to talk about general, repeated situations:

Fico orgulhoso quando vejo a minha amiga conquistar os seus objetivos.
= Every time this happens, that is how I feel.

This is a habitual truth: whenever the condition (seeing her achieve goals) is met, the reaction (feeling proud) happens. So present simple + quando is exactly right here.

You would only use a future form if you were talking about one specific future occasion, for example:

Vou ficar orgulhoso quando vir a minha amiga conquistar os seus objetivos.
= I will be proud when I see my friend achieve her goals (on that future occasion).