Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): A irmã dele é advogada e defende pessoas pobres que não conhecem bem a lei. - His sister is a lawyer and defends poor people who don’t know the law well.

dele/dela is unambiguous:
- a irmã dele = his sister
- a irmã dela = her sister
sua irmã can mean “his sister”, “her sister”, “your sister”, or “their sister”, depending on context, so learners are often encouraged to use dele/dela for clarity.

So “A irmã dele” is the most natural and clear way to say “his sister” here.

What does “dele” literally mean, and why is it used instead of a single-word possessive?

Dele is a combination of de (of) + ele (he/him):

dele = “of him” → “his”
dela = “of her” → “her”
deles = “of them” (masc. or mixed) → “their”
delas = “of them” (fem.) → “their”

Portuguese does have possessive adjectives (seu, sua, seus, suas), but these can be ambiguous:

a sua irmã could mean your, his, her, or their sister.

Using dele/dela/deles/delas after the noun (e.g. a irmã dele) clearly shows whose it is, which is especially helpful in sentences with multiple people.

Why is there an “A” before “irmã”? In English we don’t say “the his sister”.

Portuguese often uses the definite article with family members, especially in European Portuguese:

A irmã dele – literally “the sister of him”
O irmão dela – “her brother”

This is very normal and sounds natural. In Portuguese, the structure is:

article + noun + dele/dela

where English uses “his/her + noun” without “the”.

Leaving out the article (“Irmã dele é advogada”) sounds unnatural in this context.

Why is it “advogada” and not “advogado”?

Nouns for professions in Portuguese usually have masculine and feminine forms:

Masculine: advogado – male lawyer
Feminine: advogada – female lawyer

Because irmã is feminine (sister), the profession agrees in gender:

A irmã dele é advogada. – His sister is a (female) lawyer.

If it were his brother, it would be:

O irmão dele é advogado.

Why do we use “é” and not “está” in “A irmã dele é advogada”?

Portuguese uses ser (the verb é) for permanent or defining characteristics, including professions:

Ela é advogada. – She is a lawyer. (profession, identity)

The verb estar is for temporary states or conditions:

Ela está cansada. – She is (currently) tired.
Ela está doente. – She is ill.

So with jobs, we normally use ser:

A irmã dele é advogada. ✔
A irmã dele está advogada. ✘ (wrong / unnatural)

What form of the verb is “defende”, and what does it express here?

Defende is:

3rd person singular (ele/ela/você) of defender in the present indicative.

It means “defends” or “is defending”, but in Portuguese the simple present often covers:

habitual actions:
- Ela defende pessoas pobres. – She (regularly) defends poor people.
general truths.

In European Portuguese, the continuous would more often be “está a defender”, but for habitual work (what she does as a job), defende in the simple present is exactly right.

Why is the adjective after the noun in “pessoas pobres”, and what is the difference with “pobres pessoas”?

Word order of adjectives can affect nuance:

pessoas pobres (noun + adjective)
→ literally “poor people” in the economic sense (they have little money).
pobres pessoas (adjective + noun)
→ often “poor people” in the emotional sense (we feel sorry for them, they’re unfortunate).

In this sentence, pessoas pobres focuses on their lack of money, which fits the idea of a lawyer helping the economically disadvantaged.

What does “que” do in “pessoas pobres que não conhecem bem a lei”?

Here, que is a relative pronoun meaning “who/that”:

pessoas pobres que não conhecem bem a lei
= “poor people who don’t know the law well”.

It connects:

the noun: pessoas pobres
with a relative clause describing them: (que) não conhecem bem a lei

So que refers back to pessoas pobres, not to a irmã.

Who is the subject of “conhecem” in this sentence?

The subject of conhecem is “pessoas pobres”:

pessoas pobres que não conhecem bem a lei
→ they (the poor people) don’t know the law well.

You can see it from the plural verb form:

conhecem (3rd person plural) agrees with pessoas (plural).
If the subject were singular, it would be conhece:
- A pessoa não conhece bem a lei. – The person doesn’t know the law well.

Why is it “conhecem bem a lei” and not “sabem bem a lei”?

Both conhecer and saber can relate to “knowing”, but their usage differs:

conhecer = to be familiar with, to have experience of
- Conheço bem a lei. – I know the law well (I’m familiar with it).
- Conheço Lisboa. – I know Lisbon (I’m familiar with the city).
saber = to know facts, information, or how to do something
- Sei a resposta. – I know the answer.
- Sei falar português. – I know how to speak Portuguese.

In Portuguese, with “a lei” (the law) as a system, conhecer bem a lei is the natural collocation: it suggests being familiar with how the legal system works.
“Sabem bem a lei” sounds odd to native speakers in this context.

Why is it “a lei” with a definite article, and not just “lei”?

Portuguese tends to use the definite article with abstract or general nouns more often than English:

a lei – the law (as a system)
a liberdade – freedom
a justiça – justice

In English, “the law” is also usual here, so this actually matches:

não conhecem bem a lei
→ “they don’t know the law well”.

Leaving out the article (“não conhecem bem lei”) is ungrammatical.

What is the role of “bem” in “não conhecem bem a lei”? Could we say “muito bem”?

Bem is an adverb meaning “well”:

conhecem bem a lei – they know the law well.

You can intensify it with muito:

não conhecem muito bem a lei – they don’t know the law very well.

Both are correct, but bem on its own is enough to express the idea that their knowledge of the law is not good.

Why isn’t there a subject pronoun before “defende”? Why not “Ela defende pessoas pobres…”?

Portuguese is a “pro-drop” language: subject pronouns (eu, tu, ele, ela, etc.) are often omitted when the subject is clear from context or verb conjugation.

We already know the subject is “A irmã dele”.
The verb defende is 3rd person singular, matching ela.

So:

A irmã dele é advogada e defende pessoas pobres… ✔
A irmã dele é advogada e ela defende pessoas pobres… – grammatically ok, but “ela” is usually unnecessary and sounds heavier unless you want special emphasis.

Omitting ela is the most natural choice here.