Question 1

Why is there an O before meu? Doesn't meu just mean "my"?

Accepted Answer

In Portuguese, you usually put a definite article (like o or a, meaning "the") before a possessive word. So instead of just saying "my partner" like in English, you literally say "the my partner" (o meu companheiro).

Question 2

What if my partner is female? How does this sentence change?

Accepted Answer

The word for a female partner is companheira. Because the noun is now feminine, the article and possessive word must change to match it. The sentence becomes A minha companheira trabalha em Lisboa.

Question 3

Since this lesson teaches dele and dela, how would I change this sentence to say "Her partner works in Lisbon"?

Accepted Answer

To say "her partner", you place dela (meaning "of hers") after the noun. The sentence becomes O companheiro dela trabalha em Lisboa. Notice that you still need the article O before the noun, but you drop meu and add dela at the end.

Question 4

Why is it just em Lisboa instead of na Lisboa?

Accepted Answer

The preposition em means "in". While many countries and some cities in Portuguese require a "the" (which merges with em to make words like no or na), most cities are exceptions. Lisbon doesn't take a definite article, so you just use the plain preposition em.

O meu companheiro trabalha em Lisboa.

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