Breakdown of Ela diz que a terapia e a meditação melhoram a sua saúde mental.
Questions & Answers about Ela diz que a terapia e a meditação melhoram a sua saúde mental.
In Portuguese, que is normally required to introduce a subordinate clause after verbs like dizer, achar, pensar, saber, etc.
- Ela diz que a terapia e a meditação melhoram a sua saúde mental.
= She says *that therapy and meditation improve her mental health.*
You cannot normally drop que here in standard Portuguese.
Without que, Ela diz a terapia… would sound wrong, as if terapia were a direct object (like She says the therapy), which doesn’t make sense. So you should keep que in this structure.
Portuguese often uses the definite article (o / a / os / as) with general or abstract nouns where English does not.
- a terapia = therapy (in general)
- a meditação = meditation (in general)
In European Portuguese, using the article in this generic sense is very common and sounds natural:
- A música é importante. = Music is important.
- A terapia ajuda muita gente. = Therapy helps many people.
So a terapia e a meditação is the normal way to talk about therapy and meditation as general activities, not specific sessions.
The verb has to agree with the grammatical subject.
Here the subject is a terapia e a meditação: that is two things joined by e (and), so it is a plural subject.
- a terapia e a meditação melhoram → they improve
If the subject were singular, the verb would be singular:
- A terapia melhora a sua saúde mental. = Therapy improves her mental health.
- A meditação melhora a sua saúde mental. = Meditation improves her mental health.
Because we have therapy and meditation, we must use melhoram.
Yes, but only if the subject is singular. For example:
- Ela diz que a terapia melhora a sua saúde mental.
- Ela diz que a meditação melhora a sua saúde mental.
Each of these has just one subject (either a terapia or a meditação), so the verb is in the 3rd person singular (melhora).
As soon as you have a terapia e a meditação together as the subject, you must change the verb to plural: melhoram.
In European Portuguese, it is very common (almost standard) to use a definite article before possessive adjectives:
- a minha, o meu
- a tua, o teu
- a sua, o seu, etc.
So a sua saúde mental is the normal EP pattern.
Leaving out the article (sua saúde mental) is more typical of Brazilian Portuguese, and in European Portuguese it can sound either formal, poetic, or just a bit unusual in everyday speech.
For everyday European Portuguese, a sua saúde mental is the safe, natural choice.
Sua (and seu, seus, suas) is ambiguous in Portuguese: it can mean his, her, your (formal), or their, depending on context.
In your sentence, Ela diz que a terapia e a meditação melhoram a sua saúde mental, the most likely interpretation is “her mental health” (the health of ela), but grammatically it could also be someone else’s.
To make it completely clear that we are talking about her health, you can say:
- Ela diz que a terapia e a meditação melhoram a saúde mental dela.
Here dela unambiguously means her, so there is no doubt.
Both can mean her mental health, but there is a nuance:
a sua saúde mental
- More “neutral” possessive form, but potentially ambiguous (could also be his/your/their depending on context).
- Very common in writing and more formal speech.
a saúde mental dela
- Explicitly refers to her and is not ambiguous.
- Sounds a bit more informal or conversational, but is perfectly correct.
In everyday European Portuguese, many people prefer a saúde mental dela when they want to be 100% clear that the health belongs to ela and not to someone else mentioned in the context.
Yes, the difference is in formality and person:
a tua saúde mental
- tua = informal you (2nd person singular, tu)
- Used with friends, family, people you address as tu
a sua saúde mental
- sua can be:
- formal you (when you say o senhor / a senhora / você)
- or refer to he/she/they, depending on context
- Used in formal situations, with strangers, in more polite speech, or for third person.
- sua can be:
So:
- Como está a tua saúde mental? (to a friend)
- Como está a sua saúde mental? (to a patient, a client, someone you address formally)
Yes, those structures are grammatically correct and can sound natural in European Portuguese:
- Ela diz que a terapia e a meditação lhe melhoram a saúde mental.
- Ela diz que a terapia e a meditação melhoram‑lhe a saúde mental.
Here lhe means to her, and a saúde mental is still explicit, so the meaning is basically:
She says that therapy and meditation improve her mental health.
In European Portuguese, placing the clitic after the verb (melhoram‑lhe) is very common in subordinate clauses introduced by que, so the second version is especially natural in more careful or formal speech.
However, melhoram a sua saúde mental or melhoram a saúde mental dela is simpler and more typical in everyday language.
In Portuguese, most adjectives normally come after the noun:
- saúde mental = mental health
- vida social = social life
- ajuda psicológica = psychological help
Some adjectives can go before the noun, but that often changes emphasis or meaning slightly. With mental, the natural, standard position is after the noun: saúde mental.
So mental saúde would be incorrect in standard Portuguese.
Approximate European Portuguese pronunciation (using English-like hints):
diz que → roughly “deez ke”
- The z in diz sounds like the z in “zoo”
- que sounds like “keh” (not like English “queue”)
saúde → roughly “sah‑OO‑d(ɨ)”
- Stress on the middle syllable: a‑Ú‑de
- The ú is a clear oo sound
- Final e is very reduced, almost like a weak “uh” sound
meditação → roughly “m(ɨ)-dee-tah-SÃW”
- First vowel is a very reduced ɨ sound (like a weak “uh”)
- Stress on the last syllable: ção
- The ção is a nasal sound, similar to “sown” but with the n mostly in the nose, not clearly pronounced
These are just approximations; hearing native speakers is the best way to get the exact European Portuguese sounds.