Breakdown of A rapariga de quem falei é a minha namorada.
ser
to be
a rapariga
the girl
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
quem
who
falar
to speak
meu
my (m/f/pl: meu, minha, meus, minhas)
a namorada
the girlfriend
Questions & Answers about A rapariga de quem falei é a minha namorada.
Why do we use de quem here instead of just quem or que?
The verb falar (to speak) uses the preposition de when you mean "to speak about" someone. When a relative pronoun follows a preposition and refers to a person, you must use quem. Literally, this sentence says "The girl of whom I spoke".
In English, we say "The girl I spoke about". Can I put the de at the end of the sentence in Portuguese?
No, Portuguese doesn't allow prepositions to sit alone at the end of a clause like we do in English. The preposition must always go right before the relative pronoun. So, you have to say de quem falei (about whom I spoke) and never "quem falei de".
Could I use de que instead of de quem in this sentence?
Because a rapariga is a person, you use quem after the preposition. If you were talking about an object instead of a person, like a book (The book I spoke about), you would use que: O livro de que falei.
Why is there an a before minha namorada?
In European Portuguese, it is standard to put a definite article (o or a) before a possessive word. Since namorada is feminine, you use a minha namorada (literally "the my girlfriend") instead of just minha namorada.
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