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Portuguese grammar A1: beginner

Demonstratives and possessives

Contents · A1
  1. Introducing yourself
  2. Nouns and articles
  3. The present
  4. Questions and the negative
  5. Adjectives
  6. Demonstratives and possessives
    1. Demonstratives: este, esse, aquele, isto, isso, aquilo
    2. Possessives: o meu, a minha, o teu, o seu, o nosso, o vosso
    3. The owner after de: o livro do Carlos, de quem é?
  7. Place and time
  8. Habits, now and next
  9. Want, can, must and the imperative
  10. Linking sentences

Portuguese has three demonstratives where English has this and that: one for what is near the speaker, one for what is near the person spoken to, one for what is far from both. Demonstratives and possessives agree in gender and number with the noun, and in European Portuguese a possessive before a noun is preceded by the definite article.

Demonstratives: este, esse, aquele, isto, isso, aquilo#

Formation

The demonstratives agree with the noun in gender and number and are placed before it, with no article. Isto, isso and aquilo are used alone, without a noun, and never change.

MasculineFeminineMasculine pluralFeminine pluralAlone
near meesteestaestesestasisto
near youesseessaessesessasisso
far from bothaqueleaquelaaquelesaquelasaquilo

Use

Este is used for what is near the speaker, esse for what is near the person spoken to, aquele for what is far from both. They correspond to the adverbs aqui, aí and ali: este livro aqui, esse livro aí, aquele livro ali. In a conversation, what is esse for one speaker is este for the other. Isto, isso and aquilo refer to a thing not named, often in a question (O que é isto aqui?); isso also refers to what has just been said: Isso é verdade.

  • Esta mala é minha, essa é tua.This bag is mine, and that one is yours.
  • Aquele prédio ali é um hotel.That building over there is a hotel.
  • O que é isso na tua mão?What’s that in your hand?
  • Isto é para ti.This is for you.
  • Aquelas raparigas são as minhas primas.Those girls are my cousins.

Difference from English

English “that” covers both esse and aquele: the choice depends on where the thing is, near the listener or far from both. English “this” and “these” have no gender, but casa is feminine, so esta casa, estas casas.

Common mistakes

  • Isto livro é bom. → Este livro é bom.Before a noun, este, esse and aquele are used, never isto.
  • Estes casas são novas. → Estas casas são novas.Casas is feminine plural, so the demonstrative is estas.

Practise

“Demonstratives and possessives: este, esse, aquele, o meu”, Near me, near you, far from both: este, esse, aquele “Demonstratives and possessives: este, esse, aquele, o meu”, This and that, feminine and plural: esta, estes, essa, esses “Demonstratives and possessives: este, esse, aquele, o meu”, This and that on their own: isto, isso, aquilo

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Possessives: o meu, a minha, o teu, o seu, o nosso, o vosso#

Formation

The possessive agrees in gender and number with the thing owned, not with the owner, and before a noun it is preceded by the definite article.

OwnerMasculineFeminineMasculine pluralFeminine plural
euo meua minhaos meusas minhas
tuo teua tuaos teusas tuas
você, o senhor, a senhorao seua suaos seusas suas
nóso nossoa nossaos nossosas nossas
vocêso vossoa vossaos vossosas vossas

Use

A man says a minha mãe and a woman o meu pai: only the gender of the noun counts. O teu is used with a person addressed as tu, o seu with você, o senhor or a senhora, o vosso with vocês. After ser, to say who owns something, the possessive is used without the article and still agrees: Esta bicicleta azul é minha, Estes livros são teus? “His” and “her” are usually expressed with dele and dela after the noun (o carro dele, “his car”), because o seu is understood as “your”; dele is de + ele, as explained in “The owner after de: o livro do Carlos, de quem é?”. With a part of the body, the article is used instead of the possessive: dói-me a cabeça.

  • A minha mãe é professora e o meu pai é cozinheiro.My mother is a teacher, and my father is a cook.
  • Os teus amigos são simpáticos.Your friends are nice.
  • A senhora pode escrever o seu nome aqui?Could you write your name here, madam?
  • A nossa casa fica perto da praia.Our house is near the beach.
  • Este casaco é teu?Is this coat yours?
  • O carro dele é vermelho.His car is red.

Difference from English

English “my” stands alone; in Portugal the article is used as well, even with family nouns: a minha irmã, o meu filho. Minha irmã, with no article, is Brazilian usage. English “his” and “her” agree with the owner; Portuguese o meu, a minha agree with the thing owned: “her father” is o pai dela, and “my sister”, said by a man, is a minha irmã.

Common mistakes

  • Minha mãe é de Braga. → A minha mãe é de Braga.In European Portuguese, the possessive before a noun takes the article.
  • O meu irmã mora em Faro. → A minha irmã mora em Faro.The possessive agrees with irmã, which is feminine.
  • O senhor tem o teu bilhete? → O senhor tem o seu bilhete?O teu is used with tu; o senhor takes o seu.

Practise

“Demonstratives and possessives: este, esse, aquele, o meu”, My and your: o meu, a minha, o teu, a tua “Demonstratives and possessives: este, esse, aquele, o meu”, My and your in the plural: os meus, as minhas, os teus, as tuas “Demonstratives and possessives: este, esse, aquele, o meu”, Our, and your to several people: o nosso, o vosso

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The owner after de: o livro do Carlos, de quem é?#

Formation

The owner is named after the thing owned, introduced by de: o livro do Carlos, a mãe da Joana. A first name takes the article in European Portuguese, so de combines with it: de + o = do, de + a = da, de + os = dos, de + as = das. With a pronoun, de combines too: de + ele = dele, de + ela = dela.

Use

The same construction expresses a family link (o irmão do Rui, “Rui’s brother”) and the owner (a casa da Marta, “Marta’s house”). The question is De quem é…? (“Whose is…?”), answered with do or da: De quem é este guarda-chuva? — É do Nuno.

  • O carro da Marta é novo.Marta’s car is new.
  • A Inês é a irmã do Nuno.Inês is Nuno’s sister.
  • De quem é a bicicleta vermelha? — É do meu irmão.Whose is the red bike? — It’s my brother’s.
  • A casa dos meus avós é grande.My grandparents’ house is big.

Difference from English

In English, ’s is added to the owner, which comes first (“Carlos’s book”); in Portuguese, the thing owned comes first, followed by de and the owner: o livro do Carlos.

Common mistakes

  • O Carlos livro está aqui. → O livro do Carlos está aqui.The thing owned comes first, followed by de and the owner.
  • É o carro de o Rui. → É o carro do Rui.De and o are always combined into do.

In short

PointFormExample
near meeste, esta, estes, estas; istoesta mala
near youesse, essa, esses, essas; issoesse livro
far from bothaquele, aquela, aqueles, aquelas; aquiloaquele prédio
possessive + nounarticle + possessive, agreeing with the thinga minha mãe
your (polite)o seu, a suao seu bilhete
your (several)o vosso, a vossaa vossa casa
after serno articleÉ meu.
his, herdele, dela after the nouno carro dele
the ownerthing + do, da + nameo livro do Carlos
whoseDe quem é?É da Marta.

Practise

“Demonstratives and possessives: este, esse, aquele, o meu”, Whose it is: o livro do Carlos, de quem

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