Inspired by the COP26 in Glasgow, the possessives in Portuguese are here to embrace the environmental cause. And they are keen to make a difference!
O NOSSO planeta precisa da NOSSA atenção! OUR planet needs OUR attention!
O NOSSO planeta precisa da SUA atenção! OUR planet needs YOUR attention! (formal)
O NOSSO planeta precisa da TUA atenção! OUR planet needs YOUR attention! (informal)
O NOSSO planeta precisa da VOSSA atenção! OUR planet needs YOUR attention! (plural)
O NOSSO planeta precisa da MINHA atenção! OUR planet needs MY attention!
O NOSSO planeta precisa da SUA atenção! OUR planet needs HER/HIS/ITS/THEIR attention!
o meu, a minha, os meus, as minhas | my, mine |
o teu, a tua, os teus, as tuas | your, yours (informal, singular) |
o seu, a sua, os seus, as suas | your, yours (formal, singular) |
o seu, a sua, os seus, as suas | her/hers, his, its |
o nosso, a nossa, os nossos, as nossas | our, ours |
o vosso, a vossa, os vossos, as vossas | your, yours (plural) |
o seu, a sua, os seus, as suas | their, theirs |
1. These possessives are more often than not placed BEFORE the noun and always agree in gender and number with it. As you saw in the table above these possessives are preceded by the definite articles (o, a, os, as). This is because in most cases that is how they are used.
2. TEU/TUA/TEUS/TUAS mean YOUR and should be used when you talk to someone informally.
3. VOSSO/VOSSA/VOSSOS/VOSSAS mean YOUR and should be used when you talk to two or more people.
4. SEU/SUA/SEUS/SUAS mean YOUR and should be used when you talk to someone formally.
5. SEU/SUA/SEUS/SUAS also mean HER, HIS, ITS and THEIR. Because they refer to five different grammatical persons they can generate ambiguity.
To avoid ambiguity, you can use the following for the third-person singular and plural:
dele | his |
dela | her/hers |
deles | their/theirs (masculine form or mixed gender group) |
delas | their/theirs (feminine form) |
1. These possessives are placed AFTER the noun.
2. They agree in gender and number with the possessor.
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very well explained, thank you
That's a great link to make at this time of CoP26! For linguists everywhere Glasgow very appropriately means Dear Green Place in Gaelic.