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Parabéns pelo teu casamento!

Parabéns pelo teu casamento!
Congratulations on your wedding!
From Lesson 101:The present subjunctive (ganhe, viva)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Parabéns pelo teu casamento!

Why does this sentence use pelo to mean "on"?
In Portuguese, the set phrase for "congratulations on" is parabéns por. Here, the preposition por combines with the masculine definite article o to make the contraction pelo.
Why do we need the word "the" (o, hidden inside pelo) before "your" (teu)?
In European Portuguese, it is the standard rule to put a definite article (o or a) before a possessive pronoun. Since casamento is masculine, we say o teu casamento. When the preposition por is added in front of it, they merge to become pelo teu casamento.
Is parabéns plural, and does it change if I am congratulating just one person?
Parabéns is a plural noun, exactly like "congratulations" in English. It never changes its form, regardless of whether you are congratulating one person or several people.
If I am talking to a coworker I am not close to, can I still use teu?
No, teu is the informal "your" used with family and friends (the tu level of formality). For a more formal relationship (the você level), you would use seu, making the sentence Parabéns pelo seu casamento!.

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