This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the B1 level.
My suggestion* for these two weeks is to focus on:
*There's always room to adjust the course according to the group's preferences:
After this course, you'll have come closer to the B1 level and have the tools and strategies to get there and beyond.
Not sure if you should enroll in the A2 or B1 course?
Geared toward Absolute Beginners, this course gives you a solid start and foundation to build upon.
This is an introductory course to the Portuguese language as spoken in Portugal. Throughout the course, we will focus on the Portuguese sound system and basic Portuguese grammar.
You will also learn how to introduce yourself and day-to-day, useful phrases. Finally, we will discuss learning resources and strategies to support your learning journey.
After the course, you will have a basic understanding of European Portuguese pronunciation and grammar. You will also be capable of engaging in simple, short oral interactions. Last but not least, you will be aware of a variety of learning resources and strategies to help you succeed at learning the language.
I will keep you updated on upcoming course seasons
This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the A2 level.
My suggestion* for these two weeks is to focus on:
*There's always room to adjust the course according to the group's preferences:
After this course, you'll have come closer to the A2 level and have the tools and strategies to get there and beyond.
Not sure if you should enroll in the A2 or B1 course?
This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the A1 level.
If you have just started your learning journey, you may find this course too challenging. Consider enrolling for the Clean Slate A0 instead (if available).
This is an all-round course, meaning that we’ll work on all aspects of language learning (at the A1 level):
After this course, you'll have come closer to the A1 level and have the tools and strategies to get there and beyond.
Not sure if you should enroll in the A1 or A2 course?
Portuguese possessive pronouns and determiners indicate possession. In English, these are words like my, your, his, her, our, their (possessive determiners) and mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs (possessive pronouns).
Both possessive pronouns and determiners look exactly the same in Portuguese. However, possessive determiners precede the noun they qualify, whereas possessive pronouns replace the noun altogether and thus stand alone.
Here’s an example:
| Possessive determiners (precede the noun) O meu carro é novo em folha. My car is brand new. Possessive pronouns (stand-alone) Aquele carro ali é meu. That car over there is mine. |
What’s more, Portuguese possessives agree in gender and number with the thing possessed (and not with the possessor):
| O teu relógio é elegante. (o relógio) Your watch is elegant. A tua camisa está engelhada. (a camisa) Your shirt is wrinkled. |
Let’s look into Portuguese possessives in greater detail.
Reading tips! Learn more about gender and number in Portuguese:
• Gender of Portuguese Words: A Guide to Masculine-to-Feminine Spelling Patterns
• Forming the Plural in Portuguese: Singular-to-Plural Conversion Patterns to Keep an Eye On
Possessive determiners precede the noun they qualify and are normally preceded by a definite article:
| Masculine singular | Feminine singular | Masculine plural | Feminine plural | |
| my | o meu amigo | a minha amiga | os meus amigos | as minhas amigas |
| your | o teu amigo | a tua amiga | os teus amigos | as tuas amigas |
| his/her *; your (formal) | o seu amigo | a sua amiga | os seus amigos | as suas amigas |
| our | o nosso amigo | a nossa amiga | os nossos amigos | as nossas amigas |
| your | o vosso amigo | a vossa amiga | as vossas amigas | os vossos amigos |
| their * | o seu amigo | a sua amiga | os seus amigos | as suas amigas |
* Refer to the “3-person de-possessives” below
Here’re a few examples where it is clear that these determiners agree in gender and number with the possessed things:
| Trouxeste os nossos livros? Did you bring our books? Gostei muito de conhecer os teus pais. It was a pleasure to meet your parents. Não sei onde pus as minhas lentes. I don’t know where I put my lenses. |
We often skip the possessive adjective when the relationship between the possessor and the possessed is implicit or obvious:
| Vim de carro. I came in my car. A Joana falou ao telefone com a prima do Brasil. Joana spoke on the phone with her cousin from Brazil. Veste as calças! Put your trousers on! |
Portuguese possessive pronouns replace the noun they refer to standing therefore alone.
| Masculine singular | Feminine singular | Masculine plural | Feminine plural | |
| mine | (o) meu | (a) minha | (os) meus | (as) minhas |
| yours | (o) teu | (a) tua | (os) teus | (as) tuas |
| his/hers*; yours (formal) | (o) seu | (a) sua | (os) seus | (as) suas |
| ours | (o) nosso | (a) nossa | (os) nossos | (as) nossas |
| yours | (o) vosso | (a) vossa | (as) vossas | (os) vossos |
| theirs* | (o) seu | (a) sua | (os) seus | (as) suas |
* Refer to the “3-person de-possessives” below
Notice how possessive pronouns, like possessive determiners, agree in gender and number with the noun they refer to and replace:
| A minha guitarra soa melhor do que a tua. My guitar sounds better than yours. Os meus pais estão bem. E os teus? My parents are well. What about yours? Estas maçãs não são más, mas eu prefiro as nossas. These apples are not bad but I prefer ours. |
Now, in conjunction with the verb ser, possessive pronouns don’t require the preceding definite article (in this case, the article is optional and acts only as a reinforcement):
| Aquele carro ali é (o) meu. That car over there is mine. Essas malas são (as) nossas. Those suitcases are ours. |
The possessives seu/sua/seus/suas can refer to the 2-person singular formal (você), 3-person singular (ele/ela), or 3-person plural (eles/elas). Thus, their usage often gives rise to confusion as to whom they refer to.
Instead, we tend to use de-possessives when referring to the 3-person (singular and plural):
| Masculine | Feminine | |
| his/her | dele (de + ele) | dela (de + ela) |
| their | deles (de + eles) | delas (de + elas) |
Contrarily to the possessives covered above, 3-person de-possessives agree in gender and number with the possessor, not the possessed (as his/her/their do).
Also, they came after the possessed thing, not before. Here a few examples:
| Já vi a casa dele. I have already seen his house. Ainda não conheceste a mãe dela? Haven’t you met her mother yet? Gosto mais da cultura deles do que da nossa. I like their culture better than ours. |
One last thing.
Some verbs are often followed by the particle de, for instance, gostar de. Thus, dele/dela/deles/delas can be a mere contraction between de and an object pronoun, which has nothing to do with de-possessives.
Here’re a couple of examples:
| Eu gosto dele. (gostar de) I like him. Tu precisas deles. (precisar de) You need them. |
Reading tips! If you’ve enjoyed learning about Portuguese possessive pronouns, you might want to read this one as well: Portuguese Demonstrative Pronouns and Determiners.
Break Free from the Tyranny of the Present Tense
Stay tuned for upcoming online courses and other learning materials.