Word
Deram-lhe o prémio a ela, não a ti.
Meaning
They gave the prize to HER, not to you.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
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Questions & Answers about Deram-lhe o prémio a ela, não a ti.
Why does the sentence use both -lhe and a ela? Isn't that redundant?
Yes, it is grammatically redundant, but it is extremely common in Portuguese. This is known as clitic doubling. The indirect object pronoun -lhe already means 'to her', but adding a ela explicitly clarifies who is receiving the action and adds strong emphasis. It mimics the vocal stress in the English translation: 'They gave the prize to HER.'
Could I just say Deram o prémio a ela without the -lhe?
Grammatically you can, but it sounds much less natural in European Portuguese. When you use an explicit indirect object starting with a (like a ela or ao João), native speakers almost always include the corresponding indirect object pronoun (-lhe or -lhes) attached to the verb.
Why is it a ti at the end instead of just não te?
Since there is no subject, does Deram strictly mean a specific 'They' gave the prize?
Not necessarily. While deram is the third-person plural of dar, Portuguese often uses an unspecified third-person plural to express a general or passive idea. In context, this often translates better as 'Someone gave her the prize' or 'The prize was given to her,' without pointing to a specific group of people.