Quando nasceu o meu bisneto, li a história dele.
When my great-grandson was born, I read his history.
Breakdown of Quando nasceu o meu bisneto, li a história dele.
meu
my (m/f/pl: meu, minha, meus, minhas)
dele
his (forms: dela, deles, delas)
a
to / at (direction)
quando
when
ler
to read
a história
the story
o
him/it (m)
nascer
to be born
o bisneto
the great-grandson
Questions & Answers about Quando nasceu o meu bisneto, li a história dele.
Why is the verb before the subject in nasceu o meu bisneto?
This is an example of subject-verb inversion, which is highly typical in Portuguese subordinate clauses, such as those starting with quando (when). It is especially common with verbs that don't take a direct object and relate to existing, arriving, or happening, like nascer (to be born).
Would it be grammatically wrong to say quando o meu bisneto nasceu?
It wouldn't be wrong, but the inverted word order (nasceu o meu bisneto) flows much better. Portuguese naturally prefers to push subjects to the end of the clause in these situations, especially when the subject is a bit longer and the verb stands alone without an object.
Why does the sentence use a história dele instead of a sua história?
Could história translate to "story" instead of "history" here?
Absolutely. In Portuguese, história is used for both "history" (factual past events) and "story" (a narrative or tale). Depending on the wider context, the speaker might mean they read a story written about him.
Learn Quando nasceu o meu bisneto, li a história dele and more in Portuguese
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free