Possessives

Dialog — Travel Plans to Brazil

A teacher and student discuss upcoming travel to Brazil, buying tickets, and travel logistics.

Portuguese	English
Quando é que a senhora vai para o Brasil, Dona Bárbara?	When are you going to Brazil, Barbara?
No dia vinte e seis de maio. O sábado depois da minha formatura.	On the 26th of May. The Saturday after my graduation.
A senhora vai diretamente para o Rio?	Are you going directly to Rio?
Bom, eu vou parar na Flórida e passar uma semana com os meus pais. E de lá, então, eu vou para o Rio.	Well, I’m going to stop in Florida and spend a week with my parents. And from there, then, I’m going to Rio.
A gente vai receber notícias suas?	Are we going to hear from you?
Eu vou mandar um cartão do Rio.	I’m going to send a card from Rio.
A senhora já comprou as passagens?	Did you buy your tickets yet?
Eu já reservei: de Washington a Miami pela Eastern, e de Miami ao Rio pela Varig.	I’ve reserved them: from Washington to Miami on Eastern, and from Miami to Rio on Varig.

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Notes on Grammar

Part I — Possessives: meu/minha (my/mine)

The possessive “my” agrees in gender with the noun it modifies. A definite article frequently appears before the possessive.

Portuguese	English
(o) meu carro	my car
(a) minha esposa	my wife
(os) meus meninos	my children
(as) minhas filhas	my daughters

To say “mine” (without the noun), retain the article and possessive, dropping the noun:

Portuguese	English
O meu é um Chevrolet.	Mine is a Chevrolet.
A minha é americana.	Mine is American.
Os meus estão aqui.	Mine are here.

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Part II — Possessives: seu/sua (your/yours)

Portuguese	English
(o) seu livro	your book
(a) sua casa	your house
(os) seus carros	your cars
(as) suas festas	your parties

To say “yours,” drop the noun:

Portuguese	English
O seu é um Ford.	Yours is a Ford.
A sua é amanhã.	Yours is tomorrow.

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Part III — Possessives: nosso/nossa (our/ours)

Portuguese	English
(o) nosso livro	our book
(a) nossa casa	our house
(os) nossos livros	our books
(as) nossas casas	our houses

To say “ours”:

Portuguese	English
O nosso é velho.	Ours is old.
A nossa fica em Copacabana.	Ours is in Copacabana.

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Part IV — Possessives: dele/dela (his/hers)

Portuguese expresses “his” and “her” differently from “my” and “your.” The construction is literally “the [noun] of him/her”:

Portuguese	Literal	English
o livro dele	the book of him	his book
o livro dela	the book of her	her book
a esposa dele	the wife of him	his wife
o português dela	the Portuguese of her	her Portuguese
as crianças dele	the children of him	his children

To say “his” or “hers” without the noun:

Portuguese	English
o dele	his
a dela	hers
os dele	his (plural)
as dela	hers (plural)

With proper names, de contracts with the article:

Portuguese	English
o livro do Paulo	Paul’s book
o escritório da Yara	Yara’s office
os amigos do Roberto	Roberto’s friends

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Summary of Possessive Forms

English	Before masc. sing.	Before fem. sing.	Before masc. pl.	Before fem. pl.
my	(o) meu	(a) minha	(os) meus	(as) minhas
your	(o) seu	(a) sua	(os) seus	(as) suas
our	(o) nosso	(a) nossa	(os) nossos	(as) nossas
his	— dele	— dele	— dele	— dele
her	— dela	— dela	— dela	— dela

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Part V — Days of the Week

Portuguese	English
segunda-feira	Monday
terça-feira	Tuesday
quarta-feira	Wednesday
quinta-feira	Thursday
sexta-feira	Friday
sábado	Saturday
domingo	Sunday

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Part VI — Months of the Year

Portuguese	English
janeiro	January
fevereiro	February
março	March
abril	April
maio	May
junho	June
julho	July
agosto	August
setembro	September
outubro	October
novembro	November
dezembro	December

Dates are expressed with cardinal numbers (except “first,” which uses primeiro):

Portuguese	English
Sábado, dois de fevereiro	Saturday, February 2nd
Quarta-feira, doze de janeiro	Wednesday, January 12th
Segunda-feira, dez de abril	Monday, April 10th
Quarta-feira, primeiro de outubro	Wednesday, October 1st

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Practice Drills (Selected)

Drill — “And yours?”

Respond with “And yours?” after each statement:

1. A minha filha é americana. → E a sua?
2. O meu carro é um Chevrolet. → E o seu?
3. Os meus pneus são velhos. → E os seus?
4. A minha casa é velha. → E a sua?
5. O meu espanhol é péssimo. → E o seu?

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Translation Drill

1. I forgot my books. — I forgot mine too.
2. Did you speak with your parents? — I did. I’m going to speak with mine tomorrow.
3. This is my book. Which is yours? — This is mine.
4. Paul’s son speaks Spanish. Roberto’s speaks English.
5. I’m going to stop in Florida and spend a week with my parents.
6. Are we going to hear from you? — I’m going to send a card from Rio.
7. Did you buy your tickets yet? — I already reserved them.
8. Are you going by Varig? — No, by Pan American.

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Key Vocabulary Summary

Portuguese	English
meu / minha	my (m/f)
seu / sua	your (m/f)
nosso / nossa	our (m/f)
dele / dela	his / her
a passagem	ticket
o cartão	post card
comprar / comprou	to buy / bought
mandar / mandou	to send / sent
reservar / reservei	to reserve / I reserved
parar	to stop
a formatura	graduation
diretamente	directly
os pais	parents
a gente	we (informal)
receber	to receive
as notícias	news
dona	title of respect (for women)
para	to, towards, for