His car, Ana’s house

His and her: dele, dela

o seu carro can mean “your car” (polite) – so for “his” and “her” Portugal puts dele, dela, deles, delas after the noun, which keeps its article: o carro dele (his car), a casa dela (her house), os filhos deles (their children).

Made ofFormExample
de + eledeleo carro dele
de + eladelaa casa dela
de + elesdelesos filhos deles
de + elasdelasa mãe delas

Ana’s, Pedro’s: de + name

Portuguese has no ’s. The owner comes after de, and since names take the article in Portugal, de joins it: o livro do Pedro, a mala da Maria, a casa dos avós.

Made ofFormExample
de + odoo livro do Pedro
de + adaa mala da Maria
de + osdosa casa dos avós
de + asdaso carro das tias

Ter: tenho, tens, tem, temos, têm

PersonForm
eutenho
tutens
ele, ela, o senhortem
nóstemos
eles, elas, os senhorestêm

têm (they have) has a circumflex; tem (he/she has) does not – they sound almost the same. The family by marriage: o sogro, a sogra (parents-in-law), o cunhado (brother-in-law); your brother’s children are o sobrinho, a sobrinha. A Rita é casada; o irmão dela é divorciado.

Words in this lesson

WordMeaningExample
delehis, of himConheces o pai dele?
Do you know his father?
delaher, of herA irmã dela é professora.
Her sister is a teacher.
delestheir (of them, masculine or mixed)A casa deles fica em Sintra.
Their house is in Sintra.
delastheir (of them, all women)O pai delas é do Porto.
Their father is from Porto.
terto haveTemos uma casa pequena.
We have a small house.
o sobrinhonephewO meu sobrinho tem seis anos.
My nephew is six.
a sobrinhanieceA sobrinha da Rita mora em Coimbra.
Rita’s niece lives in Coimbra.
o sogrofather-in-lawO meu sogro é muito simpático.
My father-in-law is very nice.
a sogramother-in-lawA sogra dela mora com eles.
Her mother-in-law lives with them.
o cunhadobrother-in-lawO cunhado do Pedro é médico.
Pedro’s brother-in-law is a doctor.
casadomarriedO Rui é casado com a Marta.
Rui is married to Marta.
divorciadodivorcedO meu tio é divorciado.
My uncle is divorced.

Exercises

This lesson has 11 exercises in the app:

  • fill the gap: 6
  • match the pairs: 1
  • multiple choice: 1
  • build the sentence: 1
  • translate the sentence: 1
  • listen and type: 1

Try the first one

Complete: A Ana mora no Porto. A casa ___ é grande.

  1. dele
  2. delas
  3. dela

The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.