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Ele tem vergonha do seu erro.

Ele tem vergonha do seu erro.
He is ashamed of his mistake.
From Lesson 203:Sentimentos (ter pena, ter vergonha)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of Ele tem vergonha do seu erro.

o erro
the mistake
ter vergonha
to be ashamed, to be embarrassed

Questions & Answers about Ele tem vergonha do seu erro.

Why does the sentence use tem (has) instead of the verb for "is"?
In Portuguese, physical states and certain feelings are expressed using the verb ter (to have) plus a noun, rather than "to be" plus an adjective. Just like ter fome (to be hungry), this sentence literally translates to "he has shame".
Why is the word do used here instead of just de?
The phrase ter vergonha requires the preposition de (to be ashamed of). In European Portuguese, possessive words like seu are usually preceded by a definite article (o or a). Here, the preposition de merges with the article o to form do (de + o = do).
The word seu can mean "your", "his", or "hers". How do we know it means "his" here?
Context usually makes it clear. Since the sentence starts with Ele (he), the most natural assumption is that he is ashamed of his own mistake. If we needed to avoid confusion, we could replace do seu erro with do erro dele.
Can vergonha also mean "shyness"?
Yes! While it means "shame" or "embarrassment" in this context because it is linked to a mistake, ter vergonha can also mean "to be shy". For example, ele tem vergonha on its own often just means "he is shy".

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