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Portuguese (Portugal)

### 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]**

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Notice how **mala** (suitcase) is feminine, but the possessive word depends entirely on whether it belongs to "her" (**dela**) or "him" (**dele**).

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### 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.

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When an object belongs to multiple people ("their"), use **deles** or **delas**, regardless of whether they own one item or several.

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His, hers, and theirs (dele, dela)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prefix

prep

preposition

pron

pronoun

sentence

verb

Demonstratives and the verb to be (isto é, o, a)

Subject pronouns and negation (eu, não)

Yes/no questions and question words (quem, o que)

Plural pronouns, articles, and verbs (somos, são, os, as)

Origin and possession (de, do, da)

Introductions (chamar-se)

Indefinite articles (um, uma, uns, umas)

The verb to be for locations (estar)

Contrasting the two verbs to be (ser vs. estar)

Preposition for locations (em, no, na)

Numbers 0 to 10 (zero, um, dois)

The verb to have (tenho, tem)

Regular -ar verbs (falar, trabalhar)

Regular -er verbs (comer, beber)

Regular -ir verbs (abrir, partir)

My, your, and our (o meu, a nossa)

Adjective agreement and placement

Days of the week (segunda-feira)

Months of the year (janeiro)

Counting by tens to 100 (trinta, quarenta...)

Telling time (é uma, são...)

Asking about time (quando, a que horas)

The verb to go (ir)

Prepositions of direction (a, para)

Preposition a contractions (ao, à, aos, às)

Prepositions of place (ao lado de, em frente de...)

Demonstratives (este, esse, aquele)

Contractions with demonstratives (neste, desse, daquele)

Asking which and how many (qual, quanto)

Plurals ending in -ão (-ões, -ãos, -ães)

Plurals ending in consonants (-ns, -is, -es)

The verb to like (gostar de)

The verb to need (precisar de)

The verb to want (querer)

The verb can or may (poder)

Expressing obligation (ter de)

Adverbs of degree (muito, pouco)

Quantifiers (muito, pouco)

Comparatives (mais... do que, menos... do que)

Equality comparisons (tão... como)

The preposition com (comigo, contigo)

Coordinating conjunctions (e, mas, ou, porque)

The preposition por (pelo, pela)

Double negation (nunca, nada, ninguém)

Present continuous (estar a)

Near future (ir)

Past tense of regular -ar verbs

Past tense of regular -er and -ir verbs

Past tense of ser and ir (fui, foi)

Direct object pronouns (me, te, o, a, nos, os, as)

Pronoun placement with negatives and questions

Greetings and courtesy (bom dia, obrigado)

Physical states with ter (ter fome, ter frio)

Asking the way (à direita, sempre em frente)

Colours (vermelho, amarelo, cor-de-rosa)

Money and shopping (custar, a moeda)

Getting around (o motorista, a paragem de autocarro)

Weather and seasons (faz calor, o inverno)

Omitting the subject pronoun

Where things are: ficar (Onde fica...?)

Richer questions: que + noun and é que

Numbers above 100 (cento e vinte, mil)

First-person sound changes (durmo, prefiro)

Advice and ability: dever and saber

Asking why: porquê and porque

When one thing happens: quando-clauses

Here and there: aqui, aí, ali (cá e lá)

Formal and plural possessives: o seu, o vosso

Irregular presents: ver, vir, dar

Present irregulars

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se, nos)

Stem-changing reflexives

Attached object pronouns (-lo, -la, -los, -las)

Nasal attached pronouns (-no, -na, -nos, -nas)

Pronoun placement with adverbs

Past tense of fazer, dizer, and trazer

Past tense of ter, estar, poder, and saber

Past tense of querer and vir

Past tense of ver, dar, and ler

Past tense reflexive verbs (-se)

Time elapsed in the past (há)

Already and not yet (já, ainda não)

Question	Answer
the passport	o passaporte
his (forms: dela, deles, delas)	dele
Where is his passport?	Onde está o passaporte dele?
I have her passport.	Tenho o passaporte dela.
the suitcase	a mala
Her suitcase is new.	A mala dela é nova.
They have his suitcase in the car.	Eles têm a mala dele no carro.
the glasses	os óculos
Their glasses are here.	Os óculos deles estão aqui.
Where are her glasses?	Onde estão os óculos dela?
Her friends are in the café.	Os amigos dela estão no café.
the bicycle	a bicicleta
His bicycle is in the street.	A bicicleta dele está na rua.
My father has her bicycle.	O meu pai tem a bicicleta dela.
the coat	o casaco
His coat is very big.	O casaco dele é muito grande.
Their house is beautiful.	A casa deles é bonita.
His coat is new.	O casaco dele é novo.
the partner	o companheiro
My partner works in Lisbon.	O meu companheiro trabalha em Lisboa.
The partner works with the father.	O companheiro trabalha com o pai.
the adult	o adulto
The adult has a passport.	O adulto tem um passaporte.
The adult works and the student studies.	O adulto trabalha e o aluno estuda.
the little girl	a menina
The little girl has a bicycle.	A menina tem uma bicicleta.
The little girl is his daughter.	A menina é a filha dele.
the little boy	o menino
The little boy eats the cake.	O menino come o bolo.
The little boy is the teacher's son.	O menino é o filho do professor.

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