O meu filho tem de arrumar o quarto.

Questions & Answers about O meu filho tem de arrumar o quarto.

Why is there a de between tem and arrumar?
The phrase ter de followed by a verb in its raw form (the infinitive, like arrumar) is how you express obligation, meaning "to have to" do something. Here, tem is the "he/she/it" form of ter. Without the de, ter just means to own or possess something.
Why is there an O before meu filho? Doesn't that literally mean "the my son"?
Yes, it literally translates to "the my son". In European Portuguese, it is a standard rule to put a definite article (o, a, os, as) before a possessive word like meu.
The English translation says "his room", but the Portuguese just says o quarto (the room). Where is the word for "his"?
In Portuguese, when the owner is completely obvious from the context, you usually drop the possessive word and just use "the" (o or a). This is very common with personal spaces, clothes, and body parts. Saying o seu quarto here isn't strictly wrong, but it sounds unnecessary to a Portuguese speaker.
Does arrumar mean "to clean"?
Not exactly. arrumar means "to tidy", "to organize", or "to put things away". If the son needed to actually scrub the floors or wipe down surfaces with soap, you would use the verb limpar instead.

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