Os meus amigos abraçam-se no fim da festa.

In European Portuguese, it is very common to use the definite article before a possessive:

• os meus amigos = my friends
• literally, the my friends

This sounds natural in Portugal. Leaving out the article is possible in some contexts, but os meus amigos is the normal, neutral choice here.

Also, os and meus both agree with amigos, which is masculine plural.

Because it has to agree with amigos.

• amigo = friend
• amigos = friends

So the possessive must also be plural:

• meu amigo = my friend
• meus amigos = my friends

If the noun were feminine, it would change too:

• a minha amiga
• as minhas amigas

It comes from the verb abraçar, meaning to hug.

• abraçam = they hug
• abraçam-se = they hug themselves or, more naturally in this context, they hug each other

With a plural subject like os meus amigos, this usually has a reciprocal meaning: they are hugging one another.

So here, abraçam-se is best understood as hug each other.

Here it is most naturally reciprocal.

That means the action goes both ways:

• Eles abraçam-se. = They hug each other.

A reflexive meaning would be something like they hug themselves, which is grammatically possible in some sentences but does not fit this situation as naturally.

So in this sentence, an English speaker should read se as each other rather than themselves.

This is a very important feature of European Portuguese.

In an affirmative main clause, unstressed object pronouns often come after the verb:

• abraçam-se
• levantam-se
• chamam-me

This is called enclisis.

So Os meus amigos abraçam-se... is the normal European Portuguese order.

In other contexts, the pronoun moves before the verb. For example:

• Os meus amigos não se abraçam.
• Quando se abraçam...
• Espero que se abracem.

So the position of se depends on the grammar of the sentence.

Because in Portuguese spelling, when a clitic pronoun is attached after the verb, it is written with a hyphen.

So:

• abraçam-se
• vejo-te
• disse-me

The hyphen shows that the pronoun is linked to the verb.

This is standard spelling in both European and Brazilian Portuguese when the pronoun is written after the verb.

Because the subject is third person plural:

• os meus amigos = my friends = they

The present tense of abraçar goes like this:

• eu abraço
• tu abraças
• ele/ela/você abraça
• nós abraçamos
• vocês/eles/elas abraçam

So abraçam matches os meus amigos.

The infinitive is abraçar.

Portuguese uses ç before a, o, and u to keep the s sound.

So:

• abraçar
• abraço
• abraça
• abraçam

If it were written with a normal c before a, it would suggest a k sound, which would be wrong.

So the ç is there to preserve the correct pronunciation.

Literally:

• no = em + o = in the / at the
• fim = end
• da = de + a = of the
• festa = party

So no fim da festa means at the end of the party.

This is a very common structure in Portuguese:

• no fim do dia = at the end of the day
• no fim da semana = at the end of the week

Because de + a contracts in Portuguese:

• de + a = da
• de + o = do
• de + as = das
• de + os = dos

So:

• fim da festa = end of the party

Using de a festa would be incorrect in normal Portuguese.

For the same reason: em + o contracts to no.

Common contractions include:

• em + o = no
• em + a = na
• em + os = nos
• em + as = nas

So:

• no fim da festa
• not em o fim da festa

These contractions are a basic and very common part of Portuguese grammar.

The sentence is perfectly correct in European Portuguese, and it would also be understood in Brazil. But the pronoun placement often differs.

In Portugal, this sentence naturally appears as:

• Os meus amigos abraçam-se no fim da festa.

In Brazil, many speakers would be more likely to say:

• Meus amigos se abraçam no fim da festa.

Main differences:

• European Portuguese strongly prefers abraçam-se here.
• Brazilian Portuguese often prefers se abraçam.
• European Portuguese also more regularly uses the article before the possessive: os meus amigos.

So the sentence given is especially characteristic of Portuguese from Portugal.