Breakdown of O país aceitou o tratado internacional aquando da sua ratificação.
o país
the country
seu
your (formal) / his / her (all forms: seu, sua, seus, suas)
aceitar
to accept
o tratado
the treaty
aquando de
at the time of
internacional
international
a ratificação
the ratification
Questions & Answers about O país aceitou o tratado internacional aquando da sua ratificação.
Why do we use aquando da here instead of just quando?
Aquando de is a formal preposition meaning "at the time of". It is used before a noun phrase representing an event, which here is da sua ratificação (where de + a = da). If you used the conjunction quando (when), you would need a full clause with a conjugated verb, such as quando foi ratificado (when it was ratified).
Does the possessive sua in da sua ratificação refer to the country or the treaty?
Contextually, it refers to the treaty. Grammatically, sua (its) just agrees with the feminine noun ratificação. Because Portuguese possessives like seu and sua can mean his, hers, yours, or its, they are often ambiguous. If the context were unclear, a native speaker could specify by saying da ratificação dele to point directly to o tratado.
Is aquando de something I should use in everyday conversation?
Could the adjective come before the noun, as in o internacional tratado?
No. Descriptive adjectives that objectively classify or define something, like internacional, must follow the noun in Portuguese. Placing an adjective before the noun is generally reserved for subjective emphasis or a handful of common, short adjectives.
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