In this lesson, we will talk about possessive pronouns in Portuguese, how to use them, and how to avoid some confusions while expressing them.
Possessive Pronouns In Portuguese
Possessive pronouns are used to identify a thing/ person (possessor) that owning another thing/person (possessed), it can be a little confusing (or challenging) as they both have a gender and a quantity, let’s look at this table, and then discuss how to make it less confusing:
| Personal Pronouns | Possessive Pronouns (Singular: Masc/Fem) | Possessive Pronouns (Plural: Masc/Fem) | English |
| Eu | Meu / Minha | Meus / Minhas | My |
| Tu | Teu / Tua | Teus / Tuas | Your |
| Ele | Seu / Sua | Seus / Suas | His |
| Ela | Seu / Sua | Seus / Suas | Her |
| Você | Seu / Sua | Seus / Suas | Your (singular) |
| Nós | Nosso / Nossa | Nossos / Nossas | Our |
| Vocês | Seu / Sua | Seus / Suas | Your (plural) |
| Eles | Seu / Sua | Seus / Suas | Their |
| Elas | Seu / Sua | Seus / Suas | Their (feminine) |
In this table, the pronouns changes according to the gender and quantity of the things/people being possessed:
For example:
Meu carro (my car)
Minha filha (my daughter)
Meus carros (my cars)
Minhas filhas (my daughters)
When you continue looking at the table, things get a bit confusing; try to translate this into English: Seu carro
Right! It’s your car, his car, her car
Note: you can practice what you’ve learned here, and learn how to pronounce each of the words in our Memrise course here, don’t know how to use the platform or sign up? we’ve got you covered in this easy-to-follow tutorial here.
How To Avoid Confusion
To clear things up, we use four different pronouns (dele, dela, deles, delas), take a look:
| Personal Pronouns | Possessive Pronouns (Singular: Masc/Fem) | Possessive Pronouns (Plural: Masc/Fem) | English |
| Eu | Meu / Minha | Meus / Minhas | My |
| Tu | Teu / Tua | Teus / Tuas | Your |
| Ele | Dele | Dele | His |
| Ela | Dela | Dela | Hers |
| Você | Seu / Sua | Seus / Suas | Your (singular) |
| Nós | Nosso / Nossa | Nossos / Nossas | Our |
| Vocês | Seu / Sua | Seus / Suas | Your (plural) |
| Eles | Deles | Deles | Their |
| Elas | Delas | Delas | Their (feminine) |
Note: These pronouns reflect the gender of the possessor:
O carro dele: his car
Os carros dele: his cars
A filha dele: his daughter
As filhas dele: his daughters
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Happy learning!