Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Tens o teu dinheiro?

Tens o teu dinheiro?

Do you have your money?

Breakdown of Tens o teu dinheiro?

ter

to have

teu

your (informal, m/f/pl: teu, tua, teus, tuas)

o dinheiro

the money

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Questions & Answers about Tens o teu dinheiro?

Why is there an o before teu?

In Portuguese, you almost always need a definite article (o, a, os, or as, meaning the) right before a possessive word. Since dinheiro is a masculine word, we use the masculine article o. Literally, this sentence translates to: Do you have the your money?

Why do we use teu instead of tua?

Possessive words must match the gender and number of the thing being owned, not the person who owns it. Because dinheiro (money) is a masculine, singular word, we must use the masculine singular possessive teu.

Where is the word for you in this sentence?

In Portuguese, you can usually drop the pronoun (like tu for you) because the verb's ending already tells us who is doing the action. Tens is the informal you form of the verb ter (to have).

Why does the sentence not use a word like do to ask the question?

Portuguese does not use helper words like do or does to ask questions. You just use the normal statement order and raise the pitch of your voice at the end to make it a question. Without the question mark, Tens o teu dinheiro simply means You have your money.