Breakdown of A vida dela é complicada.
ser
to be
dele
his (forms: dela, deles, delas)
a vida
the life
complicado
complicated
Questions & Answers about A vida dela é complicada.
Why is it a vida dela instead of a sua vida for "her life"?
While a sua vida is grammatically correct, it can mean "his life", "her life", "your life" (formal), or "their life". To avoid this confusion, Portuguese speakers usually use dela (a contraction of de + ela, meaning "of her") after the noun.
Why do we need the word A at the beginning? Doesn't dela already show whose life it is?
In Portuguese, you almost always need a definite article (o, a, os, as meaning "the") before a noun, even when using a possessive phrase like dela. You are literally saying "The life of her".
Why use é (from the verb ser) instead of está (from the verb estar)?
Using é means that being complicated is a general, defining characteristic of her life. If you used está, it would mean her life is just temporarily complicated right now due to a passing phase.
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