Breakdown of A nossa casa é maior do que a casa do Pedro.
Questions & Answers about A nossa casa é maior do que a casa do Pedro.
In European Portuguese, it is very common (and usually more natural) to use the definite article before possessives:
- A nossa casa = Our house (literally: the our house)
You can say Nossa casa, but in Portugal it often sounds:
- more emphatic (stressed in speech), or
- a bit more formal / written.
For everyday, neutral speech in Portugal, A nossa casa is the default choice.
The structure article + possessive + noun is standard in European Portuguese:
- a nossa casa
- a = the (feminine singular article)
- nossa = our (feminine singular to match casa)
- casa = house
So you normally say:
- a minha casa – my house
- a tua casa – your house (singular, informal)
- a nossa casa – our house
The article agrees with the noun (here, casa, feminine singular), and the possessive also agrees with the noun: nossa casa, not nosso casa.
Maior is an irregular comparative form of grande:
- grande – big
- maior – bigger / larger
So in Portuguese you normally say:
- A nossa casa é maior. – Our house is bigger.
- A nossa casa é maior do que a casa do Pedro. – …bigger than Pedro’s house.
Mais grande is grammatically possible but sounds unnatural in this context and is almost never used by native speakers for this meaning. Use maior.
In this context:
- do que is the standard way to form a comparison: … maior do que … = … bigger than …
Literally:
- de = of / from
- o = the (masculine singular article)
- de + o = do (contraction)
Historically it comes from de + o que, but as a chunk you should just learn do que after comparatives:
- maior do que – bigger than
- mais caro do que – more expensive than
Yes.
In European Portuguese:
- maior do que – more formal/standard, very safe in writing and speech
- maior que – very common in everyday speech, fully accepted
So you can say:
- A nossa casa é maior do que a casa do Pedro.
- A nossa casa é maior que a casa do Pedro.
Both are correct.
Yes, and that’s actually very natural:
- A nossa casa é maior do que a do Pedro.
= Our house is bigger than Pedro’s (house).
Here a do Pedro literally means the one of Pedro:
- a – the (feminine singular, referring to casa)
- do Pedro – of Pedro
This is a common way to avoid repeating the noun.
de + o = do is a mandatory contraction:
- de o Pedro → do Pedro (never written as two words)
a casa do Pedro is the natural, everyday way to say Pedro’s house.
a casa de Pedro also exists, but it sounds:
- more formal, literary, or old-fashioned, or
- like a name of a place (e.g. a Casa de Pedro as a restaurant name).
So for normal speech, use a casa do Pedro.
Do is the contraction of the preposition de and the masculine singular article o:
- de
- o → do
Function in the sentence:
- casa do Pedro = house of the Pedro → Pedro’s house
- do links casa to Pedro (indicating possession/association).
Other similar contractions:
- de + a = da (feminine singular) → a casa da Ana – Ana’s house
- de + os = dos (masc. plural) → os livros dos alunos – the students’ books
- de + as = das (fem. plural) → as casas das irmãs – the sisters’ houses
You change the article according to the gender of the name:
- A nossa casa é maior do que a casa da Ana.
Here:
- de + a (Ana) → da Ana
- a casa da Ana – Ana’s house
With just Ana, you’d say:
- A Ana mora perto daqui. – Ana lives near here.
Some adjectives have the same form for masculine and feminine. Maior is one of these:
- um carro maior – a bigger car (masc.)
- uma casa maior – a bigger house (fem.)
- uns carros maiores – bigger cars (masc. plural)
- umas casas maiores – bigger houses (fem. plural)
It only changes in the plural (maiores), not for gender.
Portuguese uses definite articles more than English:
- a casa do Pedro – literally the house of (the) Pedro
- English normally drops the in this structure: Pedro’s house
So:
- A nossa casa é maior do que a casa do Pedro.
- Our house is bigger than Pedro’s house.
The article a is needed in Portuguese because casa is a specific house.
The sentence is correct in both varieties:
- A nossa casa é maior do que a casa do Pedro.
Main difference in practice:
- In Portugal, using the article with possessives (a nossa casa) is the norm.
- In Brazil, people often omit the article in speech: Nossa casa é maior…
So in Brazil you hear both, but in Portugal A nossa casa… is the more natural choice.
The general pattern is:
- [thing A] + é mais / menos / maior / menor / melhor / pior + (do) que + [thing B]
Examples:
- A nossa casa é maior do que a casa do Pedro. – Our house is bigger than Pedro’s.
- O carro dele é mais caro do que o nosso. – His car is more expensive than ours.
- Esta rua é mais tranquila do que aquela. – This street is quieter than that one.
So you can model many sentences on this structure.