Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Esse casaco combina com as tuas botas.

este / esta / estes / estas – roughly “this” (close to the speaker)
esse / essa / esses / essas – roughly “that” (close to the listener, or just mentioned)
aquele / aquela / aqueles / aquelas – “that (over there)” (far from both speaker and listener)

In practice:

esse casaco can be:
- A coat near the person you’re talking to, or
- A coat you both know about from the context (e.g. “that coat we were talking about”).

European Portuguese follows this system in grammar books, but in real speech people are often less strict and esse can sometimes feel almost like English “that” in general. In this sentence, esse casaco is natural because you’re pointing to or referring to a specific coat that’s not necessarily right “on” you as the speaker.

Could I say este casaco combina com as tuas botas instead? What changes?

Yes, Este casaco combina com as tuas botas is also grammatically correct.

este casaco = “this coat (here, near me / that I’m wearing / I’m holding)”
esse casaco = “that coat (near you / the one we were talking about)”

So the difference is about point of view and physical or discourse “distance,” not about grammar. Context decides which one fits better.

Why is it esse casaco and not essa casaco?

Because casaco is a masculine noun in Portuguese.

Masculine singular: esse casaco
Feminine singular: essa mala (that suitcase)
Masculine plural: esses casacos
Feminine plural: essas botas

The demonstrative must agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies, not with the speaker or owner.

Why is the verb combina and not combinam?

The verb must agree with the subject of the sentence.

Subject: esse casaco → 3rd person singular
Verb: combinar (to match, to go well together)
Present tense, 3rd person singular: combina

So:

Esse casaco combina com as tuas botas. (singular → singular verb)
But:
Esses casacos combinam com as tuas botas. (plural subject → plural verb combinam)

Why do you say combina com? What does the preposition com do here?

In Portuguese, when combinar has the meaning “to match / to go well together (aesthetically),” it’s almost always used with com:

Esse casaco combina com as tuas botas.
→ That coat matches your boots.
A camisa combina com as calças.
→ The shirt matches the trousers.

So you can think of it as a fixed pattern: combinar com [something] = “to match / go with [something].”

Could I say something else instead of combina com, like vai com or fica bem com?

Yes, there are several natural alternatives in European Portuguese:

Esse casaco vai bem com as tuas botas.
→ “That coat goes well with your boots.”
Esse casaco fica bem com as tuas botas.
→ “That coat looks good with your boots.”
Esse casaco condiz com as tuas botas. (a bit more formal)
→ “That coat matches your boots.”

All of these are acceptable, with small differences in tone. Combina com and fica bem com are very common in everyday speech.

Why is it as tuas botas and not just tuas botas?

In European Portuguese, it’s very common (and usually more natural) to use a definite article with a possessive:

as tuas botas
o teu casaco
os meus livros
a nossa casa

You can drop the article (tuas botas) in some contexts, but in European Portuguese that often sounds more marked or less natural, depending on the phrase. The neutral, everyday choice is article + possessive + noun: as tuas botas.

Why is it tuas and not suas? What’s the difference between tuas and suas in Portugal?

In European Portuguese:

tu / ti / teu / tua / teus / tuas → informal you (singular)
você / o senhor / a senhora
- seu / sua / seus / suas → more formal “you” or 3rd person “his / her / their” (context-dependent)

So:

as tuas botas = your boots, talking informally to one person you call tu.
as suas botas is more formal or can also mean “his/her/their boots,” depending on context.

In everyday European Portuguese, if you are using tu, you normally stick with teu / tua forms, not seu / sua.

Why is it tuas and not teu? How do I know which possessive form to use?

Possessive adjectives agree with the owned noun, not with the owner:

Masculine singular noun: o teu casaco (your coat)
Feminine singular noun: a tua mala (your bag)
Masculine plural noun: os teus livros (your books)
Feminine plural noun: as tuas botas (your boots)

Since botas is feminine plural:

article: as
possessive: tuas

→ as tuas botas

Can I say Esse casaco combina com suas botas in European Portuguese?

It will usually sound odd or ambiguous in European Portuguese.

suas botas is strongly associated with:
- formal você speech, or
- 3rd person possession (“his/her/their boots”).

If you are addressing someone informally as tu, the natural European form is as tuas botas.

Combina com suas botas would be more natural in Brazilian Portuguese (with você) than in European Portuguese.

Could I say Esse casaco combina com as botas tuas?

Grammatically, you can place the possessive after the noun (as botas tuas), but:

The normal, neutral order is as tuas botas.
as botas tuas sounds emphatic or marked, like stressing “your boots (as opposed to someone else’s).”

In this context, with no contrast in focus, the natural choice is Esse casaco combina com as tuas botas.

Is there any difference between casaco and English “coat” or “jacket”?

Yes, the categories don’t match perfectly.

In European Portuguese, casaco is quite broad:

It can be what English calls a coat (long, for outdoors),
or a jacket (shorter, part of a suit, or casual), depending on context.

There are more specific words:

sobretudo = (over)coat, long winter coat
blusão = short, casual jacket (e.g. bomber jacket)
casaco de ganga / de couro = denim / leather jacket

But casaco on its own covers a wide range of “outer garments with sleeves you wear over other clothes.”

How would this sentence change if I were talking to more than one person informally?

If you’re using informal vós (rare in modern speech) vs. the usual plural vocês, things differ.

Modern, natural European Portuguese usually uses vocês, but still with vosso / vossa for “your (plural)”:

Esse casaco combina com as vossas botas.
→ That coat matches your boots (talking to more than one person).

So the change is just tuas → vossas (feminine plural, to agree with botas).