O meu amigo é advogado e trabalha num grande tribunal na capital.

My friend is a lawyer and works in a big court in the capital.

Breakdown of O meu amigo é advogado e trabalha num grande tribunal na capital.

• ser: to be
• um: a
• meu: my
• o amigo: the friend
• e: and
• em: in
• trabalhar: to work
• grande: big
• a capital: the capital
• o advogado: the lawyer
• o tribunal: the court

Questions & Answers about O meu amigo é advogado e trabalha num grande tribunal na capital.

Why is there an O before meu amigo? Could I just say Meu amigo é advogado…?

In European Portuguese, it’s very common to use the definite article with possessives:

• O meu amigo = literally “the my friend” → “my friend”
• A minha casa = “my house”
• Os meus pais = “my parents”

You can say Meu amigo é advogado…, and it’s not wrong, but in European Portuguese it often sounds a bit more formal, emphatic, or stylized.

In everyday, natural European Portuguese, you’ll hear:

• O meu amigo é advogado.
• A minha irmã trabalha aqui.

So, in this sentence the O is there simply because that’s the usual way to talk about “my [something]” in Portugal.

Why is there no article before advogado? Why not é um advogado?

With professions, nationalities, religions, and similar categories, Portuguese usually omits the article after the verb ser:

• Ele é advogado. = He is (a) lawyer.
• Ela é médica. = She is (a) doctor.
• O meu amigo é português. = My friend is (a) Portuguese man.

If you say é um advogado, it is grammatically correct but adds a nuance:

• Ele é advogado. → neutral: he is a lawyer (his profession).
• Ele é um advogado famoso. → he is a famous lawyer.
• Ele é um advogado muito competente. → adding a quality, more descriptive.

So in your sentence, é advogado is the standard, neutral way to state his profession.

Why is it é and not está advogado? What’s the difference between ser and estar here?

Portuguese uses:

• ser for permanent or defining characteristics (what someone is by nature, identity, or profession).
• estar for temporary states and locations (how someone is at a specific moment).

Being a lawyer is normally seen as a stable identity/profession, so:

• O meu amigo é advogado. ✅
• O meu amigo está cansado. = My friend is tired (temporary).
• Ele está em casa. = He is at home (location).

Está advogado is not used to mean “is a lawyer.” You’d only use estar with a profession in unusual, figurative, or joking contexts (e.g. someone is acting as a lawyer just for today).

What exactly does trabalha mean and why is there no ele?

Trabalha is:

• verb: trabalhar (to work)
• tense: simple present
• person: 3rd person singular → ele/ela trabalha (he/she works)

In Portuguese, subject pronouns (eu, tu, ele, nós, vocês, eles) are often dropped because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is.

From context, we know the subject is still o meu amigo:

• O meu amigo é advogado e trabalha…
  = My friend is a lawyer and (he) works…

Adding ele would sound unnecessary: O meu amigo é advogado e ele trabalha… is grammatical but a bit redundant in this case.

What does num mean exactly? How is it different from no?

Num is a contraction:

• em + um → num
  “in + a (masculine singular)” → “in a”

No is another contraction:

• em + o → no
  “in + the (masculine singular)” → “in the”

So:

• num grande tribunal = em um grande tribunal → in a big court
• no grande tribunal = em o grande tribunal → in the big court

In your sentence, num is used because we’re talking about one big court in general, not a particular one that both speaker and listener already know.

Why is it num grande tribunal and not num tribunal grande? Does the position of grande matter?

In Portuguese, adjectives can come before or after the noun, and the position often changes the nuance.

With grande:

• um grande tribunal
  
  • more common order
  • tends to mean “an important / large / significant court”
• um tribunal grande
  
  • more neutral, more physical size
  • “a court that is big (in size)”

The difference is subtle, and both are grammatically correct. In your sentence:

• trabalha num grande tribunal
  suggests a major, important court (and/or big institution), which fits naturally with “in the capital.”

What does na capital literally mean? Why na instead of em a?

Na is another contraction:

• em + a → na
  “in + the (feminine singular)” → “in the”

So:

• na capital = em a capital → in the capital

Portuguese almost always contracts these:

• em + o → no (no tribunal)
• em + a → na (na capital)
• em + os → nos
• em + as → nas

Capital here is a feminine noun (like “city”), referring to the capital city of a country or region.

Could I say na capital de Portugal or em Lisboa instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, you could say:

• O meu amigo é advogado e trabalha num grande tribunal na capital de Portugal.
• O meu amigo é advogado e trabalha num grande tribunal em Lisboa.

Differences:

• na capital
  
  • more generic: “in the capital (city)”
  • doesn’t name which city; context must make it clear.
• na capital de Portugal
  
  • explicit: tells you we’re talking about Portugal’s capital.
• em Lisboa
  
  • names the city directly.

All are correct; the choice depends on how specific you want to be.

How would the sentence change if my friend were female?

You must change the gender of both amigo and advogado to the feminine:

• O meu amigo é advogado… (male)
• A minha amiga é advogada… (female)

So the full sentence becomes:

• A minha amiga é advogada e trabalha num grande tribunal na capital.

Note that:

• o → a (article changes)
• meu → minha (possessive changes)
• amigo → amiga (noun changes)
• advogado → advogada (profession changes)

Is tribunal the same as “court” in English? Could it also mean the building?

Yes. Tribunal in European Portuguese usually corresponds to:

• “court” (the legal institution where cases are judged), and
• often also “courthouse” (the building).

Examples:

• Trabalho no tribunal.
  → I work at the court / courthouse.

Portuguese also has corte, but in modern usage this is more specialized (e.g. Corte Constitucional, Corte Suprema) and is less common in everyday speech than tribunal. In your sentence, tribunal is the natural, neutral word.

Can I change the order and say: O meu amigo trabalha num grande tribunal e é advogado?

Yes, that’s grammatical:

• O meu amigo trabalha num grande tribunal e é advogado.

However, the emphasis changes slightly:

• é advogado e trabalha num grande tribunal
  → first you present his profession, then where he works.
• trabalha num grande tribunal e é advogado
  → first you talk about his job location, then mention his profession.

Both are fine; the original order sounds a bit more natural if you want to introduce him as “a lawyer who works in a big court in the capital.”

What’s the difference between o meu amigo and um amigo meu?

Both can mean “a friend of mine,” but they are used differently:

• O meu amigo

  • usually refers to a specific friend that both speaker and listener can identify (or that has just been introduced).
  • can feel a bit more “defined” or known.
  • O meu amigo é advogado. → “My (particular) friend is a lawyer.”

• Um amigo meu

  • literally “a friend of mine.”
  • introduces one of your friends, but not a specifically known one.
  • Um amigo meu é advogado. → “A friend of mine is a lawyer.”

In your sentence, O meu amigo… suggests you’re talking about a particular, known friend.