Learn Portuguese (Portugal): A vossa ajuda é muito útil para elas.

A vossa ajuda é muito útil para elas.

Your help is very useful for them.

Breakdown of A vossa ajuda é muito útil para elas.

Questions & Answers about A vossa ajuda é muito útil para elas.

Why do we use elas after para? Can't we use an object pronoun like lhes?

After a preposition like para (for), de (of/from), or sem (without), you must use a stressed personal pronoun. For the feminine plural, this pronoun is exactly the same as the normal subject pronoun: elas. You only use object pronouns like lhes when attaching them directly to a verb.

Does vossa mean that the people we are talking to are all female?

Not necessarily! The word vossa means your (when speaking to a group of people, like you all). It is feminine here because it must match the gender of the thing being owned, which is the feminine noun ajuda (help). It does not tell us the gender of the people you are talking to.

Why is there an A before vossa ajuda?

In European Portuguese, it is standard practice to put a definite article (o, a, os, as) before a possessive word. Because ajuda is a feminine singular noun, we use A before vossa. You can think of it literally as meaning The your help.

Since the help is for elas (them), shouldn't the adjective be plural, like úteis?