The possessive pronouns are fairly easy in Portuguese. In languages like English, and even in the closely related Spanish, there is a difference between the adjective and the pronoun form, but no so in Portuguese. For English speakers, the only thing to be aware is the usual dichotomy between masculine/feminine and singular/plural forms, but for those who have reached this far in the lessons, that shouldn't be a problem. The following table lists all the possessives: (Remember that both pronouns and adjectives have the same form)
| Person | Masculine Singular | Feminine Singular | Masculine Plural | Feminine Plural |
| Eu | meu | minha | meus | minhas |
| Tu | teu | tua | teus | tuas |
| Ele/Ela/Você | seu | sua | seus | suas |
| Nós | nosso | nossa | nossos | nossas |
| Vós | vosso | vossa | vossos | vossas |
| Eles/Elas/Vocês | seu | sua | seus | suas |
The plural forms are only included for the sake of completeness, as they are very regular:
take the singular form, and just add an s. Perhaps you have noticed that Ele/Ela/Você
have the same form. One important thing to remember is that the gender and number of the form
depends on the object being possessed, not on the possessor. In English, the forms his/her vary
according to the gender of the possessor, but in Portuguese they are equal, varying only
according to the gender and number of the object.
In Portugal, the possessives usually have the defined article before them, while in Brazil this
is not common. But both forms are correct, and you can hear them both in any of the countries.
So, the sentence "My car is green" could be translated as "O meu carro é verde" (more
common in Portugal), or as "Meu carro é verde" (more common in Brazil). As I am
Portuguese, I will use the form that is more common in Portugal, but don't forget that
they are both correct!
Perhaps you have noticed that being the 3rd person forms equal regardless if there is just one
or more owners, or if the owner is masculine or feminine, this might lead to ambiguities. Pay
attention on the following sentence:
"Pedro e Inês cantam a sua canção"
Which of the following translations is correct?
1 - Pedro and Inês sing his song
2 - Pedro and Inês sing her song
3 - Pedro and Inês sing their song
4 - Pedro and Inês sing your song (a formal "your")
Well, any of the above forms could be correct. There is not enough information to decide which, and for this reason, portuguese speakers rarely use these forms. Instead, the contraction of the preposition "de" with the pronouns ele/ela/eles/elas is usually used. These forms are listed in the table bellow:
| Contraction | Meaning |
| de + ele = dele | his |
| de + ela = dela | her |
| de + eles = deles | their (masculine or mixed gender) |
| de + elas = delas | their (feminine) |
Each of the four sentences above can be now translated as follows:
1 - Pedro and Inês sing his song - Pedro e Inês cantam a canção dele
2 - Pedro and Inês sing her song - Pedro e Inês cantam a canção dela
3 - Pedro and Inês sing their song - Pedro e Inês cantam a canção deles
4 - Pedro and Inês sing your song (formal) - Pedro e Inês cantam a sua canção
The choice of which form to use depends on the context. If there is a chance of ambiguity, then use the form that doesn't lead to it. In most day-to-day conversations, the dele/dela/deles/delas are usually used, but in written texts or in a more formal conversation, the forms seu/sua/seus/suas forms are preferred.
| English | Masculine Singular | Feminine Singular | Masculine Plural | Feminine Plural | Invariable |
| this | este | esta | estes | estas | isto |
| that | esse | essa | esses | essas | isso |
| that (yonder) | aquele | aquela | aqueles | aquelas | aquilo |
| such | tal | tal | tais | tais | |
| the same | o mesmo | a mesma | os mesmos | as mesmas | |
| another | outro | outra | outros | outras | |
| the other | o outro | a outra | os outros | as outras | |
| the one | o | a | os | as | o |
Special attention must be given to esse, aquele. They both mean that in English,
but are used in different situations. The demonstrative esse is used to designate an
object that is close to the receiver, while aquele is used for an object that is far
from both the speaker and the receiver. (More or less like the archaic English yonder.)
Please also notice that in Brazil it is common that a speaker will refer to an object close
to him with the esse forms, and not este as one might expect.
Este carro é meu - This car is mine
São aquelas as vossas flores? - Are those your flowers?
Ela come a sobremesa dele - She eats his desert
Esta é a minha escola - This is my school
Aquele não é o mesmo pássaro - That (yonder) is not the same bird
Essa rapariga é minha prima - That girl is my cousin (That girl is a cousin of mine)
Essa rapariga é a minha prima - That girl is my cousin (*)
Não compreendo tal atitude - I don't understand such attitude
Queres comer outra maçã? - Do you want to eat another apple?
Isto é incrível! - This is incredible! Essa é uma boa ideia! - That is a good idea! (*) By putting the defined article a before the possessive pronoun, the meaning of this sentence changes slightly. The cousin is "defined", meaning that it's not a random cousin, but a cousin that was mentioned earlier in the conversation.
Esse peixe nada no meu lago.
Aquele cão é teu?
Vamos ao cinema no teu carro?
A mesma jovem rapariga canta outra bela canção.
Those (yonder) old cats eat our fish.
Fifteen brown horses run in my fields.
You always have the same ideas!
How does your bird sing?
And that's all for lesson 6. You are welcome to continue and go on for lesson 7. There we'll take a look at the Past and Future tenses.
Please send me your comments, sugestions, or whatever! If there's anything you would like to see included in these Short Portuguese lessons, please tell me so!
Go on to Lesson 7
Back to the Short Portuguese Lessons page
Last updated: 97/04/04
Dario Oliveira Teixeira