Breakdown of O pescoço dela é comprido.
ser
to be
dele
his (forms: dela, deles, delas)
comprido
long
o pescoço
the neck
Questions & Answers about O pescoço dela é comprido.
Why does this sentence use dela instead of seu for "her"?
In Portuguese, the possessive word seu can mean "his", "her", "your" (formal), or "their". Because this can be confusing, it is very common to use dela (which literally means "of her") to be completely clear that you specifically mean "her".
Why does dela come after the noun instead of before it?
While possessives like meu (my) or seu (your/his/her) usually come before the noun, dela is actually a contraction of de (of) and ela (her). So, O pescoço dela literally translates to "The neck of her". In Portuguese, this "of her" phrase must always go after the noun it describes.
I learned that longo means "long". Why is comprido used here?
Both longo and comprido mean "long". However, comprido is specifically used to describe the physical length of tangible objects, body parts, or hair. Longo is more often used for time or abstract things (like a long day or a long story), though it can sometimes be used for physical length too. For a neck, comprido is the most natural choice.
Why do we use é (from the verb ser) instead of está (from the verb estar)?