O pai segura o filho ao colo.

The father holds his son in his arms.

Breakdown of O pai segura o filho ao colo.

• o pai: the father
• o filho: the son
• segurar: to hold
• ao colo: in one's lap

Questions & Answers about O pai segura o filho ao colo.

What verb form is segura, and why is this form used here?

Segura is the 3rd person singular, present tense, indicative form of the verb segurar (to hold).

• Verb: segurar
• Person: 3rd person singular (ele/ela segura)
• Tense: present (an action happening now or generally)

The subject is o pai (the father), which is 3rd person singular, so the verb must agree: O pai segura…

Why is it o pai and o filho, with the definite article o, instead of just pai and filho like in English?

European Portuguese uses definite articles much more than English, especially:

• with family members: o pai, a mãe, o filho, a filha
• when referring to specific people, even if English drops the

In this sentence, o pai is basically the father and o filho is the son, but in natural English we usually say The father is holding his son, dropping the before father and son.

So:

• O pai segura o filho ao colo.
  ≈ The father is holding his son in his arms.

Leaving out the article and saying Pai segura filho ao colo would sound wrong or very incomplete in European Portuguese.

What exactly does the expression ao colo mean?

Ao colo is a fixed expression that means something like:

• in one’s arms, close to the chest
• on one’s lap, depending on the context

The noun colo literally refers to the area between the chest and the knees when you are sitting – roughly the lap / bosom area.

In this sentence, segura o filho ao colo means the father is holding the child in his arms, close to his body, typically like a parent holding a small child.

Is ao colo literally to the lap? How is it formed grammatically?

Yes, grammatically it is:

• a (preposition to/at) + o (definite article the) + colo → ao colo

So literally it is to the lap/bosom, but in practice it works as an idiomatic expression meaning in one’s arms / on one’s lap, depending on posture.

You usually don’t change the preposition here; you say ao colo as a set phrase in European Portuguese.

What is the difference between ao colo and no colo?

Both contain colo, but:

• ao colo = in (someone’s) arms / at the bosom, very common in European Portuguese
• no colo = on the lap, more literally sitting on someone’s thighs

Grammatically:

• ao colo = a
  • o colo
• no colo = em
  • o colo

Usage:

• In Portugal, ao colo is the usual expression for a baby/child being held in the arms.
• In Brazil, people much more often say no colo for both in arms and on the lap.

So:

• European Portuguese: O pai segura o filho ao colo.
• Brazilian Portuguese: O pai segura o filho no colo.

Could I say O pai segura o filho nos braços instead? Does it mean the same?

Yes, you can say:

• O pai segura o filho nos braços.

This means The father is holding the son in his arms.

Nuances:

• ao colo emphasizes the close, nurturing position, child against the chest or lap.
• nos braços is more literal: in his arms, without the same idiomatic warmth as ao colo, but still perfectly natural and affectionate.

Both are correct; ao colo is just a very common, idiomatic way to describe how you hold a baby or small child.

How would this sentence change if there were two parents or two children?

You change the subject and/or object to plural, and the verb must agree:

1. Two parents, one child:

   • Os pais seguram o filho ao colo.
     (The parents hold the son in their arms.)

2. One parent, two children:

   • O pai segura os filhos ao colo.
     (The father holds the children in his arms.)

3. Two parents, two children:

   • Os pais seguram os filhos ao colo.

Notice:

• pai → pais (father → parents)
• filho → filhos (son/child → sons/children)
• segura → seguram (3rd person singular → plural)

If the meaning is his son, why don’t we see a possessive like seu filho?

In Portuguese, the possessive is often omitted when:

• the relationship is obvious from context, especially with close family
• there is only one logical possessor in the sentence

In O pai segura o filho ao colo, it naturally reads as:

• The father is holding his son in his arms.

Saying O pai segura o seu filho ao colo is grammatically correct, but you only need seu if you want to emphasize that it is his son (and not someone else’s), or if there might be ambiguity.

By default, o filho with o pai as subject is understood as his son.

Can I replace O pai with a pronoun? How would the sentence look?

Yes, with a pronoun:

• Ele segura o filho ao colo.
  (He holds the son / his son in his arms.)

Here:

• Ele = he
• Verb and word order stay the same: Ele segura o filho ao colo.

If context is clear, you can also drop the subject pronoun in Portuguese:

• Segura o filho ao colo.
  (Subject he or she is understood from context; this is much more natural in Portuguese than in English.)

Is the word order O pai segura o filho ao colo fixed? Can I move ao colo somewhere else?

The neutral, most natural word order is:

• O pai (subject) + segura (verb) + o filho (direct object) + ao colo (complement).

You can move ao colo a bit for emphasis, but changes sound more marked or literary:

• O pai segura ao colo o filho. (possible but sounds a bit unusual)
• Ao colo, o pai segura o filho. (very marked, stylistic/emphatic)

For everyday speech and standard writing, you should keep:

• O pai segura o filho ao colo.

What is the difference between segurar and segurar em?

Both exist, but they are used differently:

• segurar + direct object: hold something/someone

  • O pai segura o filho. (The father holds the son.)

• segurar em + noun: hold onto something (physically or figuratively)

  • Segura em mim. (Hold on to me.)
  • Segura em na tua mala. (Hold on to your bag.)

In the sentence O pai segura o filho ao colo, segurar takes a direct object (o filho), and ao colo is an extra complement that describes how or where he’s holding him. There is no need for em here.