Expressing "His", "Hers", and "Theirs"
To avoid ambiguity about who owns what, European Portuguese expresses "his," "hers," and "theirs" with a structure that literally translates to "of him", "of her", or "of them". Combine the preposition de (of) with the pronouns ele (he), ela (she), eles (they, masc.), and elas (they, fem.):
| English | Portuguese | Contraction |
|---|
| his | de + ele | dele |
| her / hers | de + ela | dela |
| their / theirs (masc./mixed) | de + eles | deles |
| their / theirs (feminine) | de + elas | delas |
Word Order and Agreement
Unlike meu (my) or nosso (our), dele and dela come after the noun.
Because they literally mean "of him" or "of her", they always agree with the owner, not the object. You also always use a definite article (o, a, os, as) before the object.
Formula: [Definite Article] + [Noun] + [dele / dela / deles / delas]
Notice how mala (suitcase) is feminine, but the possessive word depends entirely on whether it belongs to "her" (dela) or "him" (dele).
Plural Possessions and Plural Owners
When the items being owned are plural, the article and noun become plural, but the possessive word still reflects the owner.
When an object belongs to multiple people ("their"), use deles or delas, regardless of whether they own one item or several.
