Breakdown of A rapariga vai ao concerto com o amigo do diretor.
a rapariga
the girl
o amigo
the friend (m)
do
of the / from the (do, da, dos, das)
com
with
ao
to the / at the (m.sg; f.sg à, m.pl aos, f.pl às)
ir
to go
o diretor
the director
o concerto
the concert
Questions & Answers about A rapariga vai ao concerto com o amigo do diretor.
Why are com and o separate words here, when ao and do are combined?
Unlike prepositions such as a (to) or de (of), the preposition com (with) doesn't merge with the definite articles o (the, masculine) or a (the, feminine). They just sit side-by-side: com o amigo.
If she went 'with him' instead of 'with the friend', would I use a special word like comigo?
No, you would just say com ele (with him). The special combined forms you are learning apply to 'with me' (comigo), informal 'with you' (contigo), and formal 'with you' (consigo). For 'with him' or 'with her', European Portuguese just uses com ele or com ela.
How does do diretor translate to 'the director's'?
Portuguese doesn't use an apostrophe 's' to show ownership. Instead, you have to word it backwards as 'the friend of the director'. The word do is a mandatory combination of the preposition de (of) and the article o (the).
Why do we use ao before concerto?
The verb ir (to go) pairs with the preposition a (to) when talking about destinations. Because concerto is a masculine noun, we also need the masculine 'the', which is o. In Portuguese, a + o always merge into the single word ao.
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