Subscribe To This Site
Portuguese definite articles are important.
The Portuguese definite articles are of extreme importance. They are the equivalent to the English word "The". |
| THE | ||
EU stands for European Portuguese and BR stands for Brazilian Portuguese.
The definite articles are also important because in most cases they match the ending of a word (e.g. a porta [the door], o copo [the glass], as camas [the beds], os livros [the books]).
You should also use a definite article before any person's name (e.g. O Paul, A Maria).
The only cases when you should not place a definite article before a person's, name is:
In this last case you won't need to use the definite article because you are using the vocative, or in other words, you are catching someone's attention.
Also you should not use a definite article:
And that's it!
From now on, please remember to place a definite article before any single word that describes any object, idea or person, taking in to account the exceptions.
Here are some examples:
O livro - the book.
A secretária - the desk or the secretary.
Os pratos - the plates or the dishes.
As canetas - the pens.
As camisas - the shirts.
A Sofia - Sophie (the girl).
O António - Antonio.
O rato - the mouse.
A filosofia - the philosophy.
O sonho - The dream.
O pensamento - the thought.
Yep! I hope you have enjoyed this explanation.
Obrigado!
Rafa
Go Back From Portuguese Definite Articles To Portuguese Grammar.
Go Back From Portuguese Definite Articles To Home Page.
New! Comments
Have your say about what you just read! Leave me a comment in the box below. Obrigado. :-)
Rafa's Vocabulary Ticker Is A Language Learning Tool I've Created To Help You Get Fluent Faster.
* * * * *
And Have You Signed Up For My Free Newsletter Yet?
Subscribe above
Right Now!
Click here to learn more about Rafa's Newsletter.
* * * * *
| "Having found Rafa's website by accident I can honestly say it was the best thing to happen to me on my journey to learn Portuguese. I started learning on January 2012 (using a language programme) but wanted to take some classes to aid my learning. When I looked on the internet there were so many options and I felt overwhelmed but one day whilst randomly looking on different websites I found Rafa's site and thought it was the best site I had come across but when I found out he did lessons in London I was thrilled - I emailed him and he promptly responded and we arranged to meet for a coffee the next day. Rafa was so confident that I would find his lessons successful that he offered me the first lesson for free and he was right! What makes Rafa such a fantastic teacher is that not only does he explain the concepts and structure of the language in a clear, concise manner, he inspires his students with the confidence to speak and the motivation to want to learn more - I now take lessons twice a week (2 hours each time) and I always look forward to every lesson. Learning Portuguese can be extremely frustrating at times but Rafa gives you the belief that with his help and hard work you can achieve your goal. I have been really impressed with my progress since January and to put it into context - on my first lesson my only contact with Portuguese was 8 lessons on a language programme. With Rafa, we started going through the alphabet and pronunciation rules and now, three months later we are talking in Portuguese about holidays, life in London and even the socio-economic fortunes of young people in Brazil! Rafa has not only been an inspiring teacher but has become a good friend - he's always happy to answer my emails if I have questions and we often go for a coffee or beer after lessons to discuss my progress and other things of interest. If you are serious about learning Portuguese I could not recommend Rafa highly enough - he will be the difference between you giving up when the success you want is just around the corner. Jamie." - London . U.K. |
"Hi Rafa
This site is just amazing - I really enjoy having the resource available to learn Portuguese - and have learnt so much from it already.Please keep adding more!
Nina." - South Africa
| "A great Portuguese teacher! Rafa speaks excellent English, and as a result is able to explain subtleties that other teachers can't. He can speak Portuguese clearly for the beginner or with the slang and difficult pronunciation that everyday Portuguese so often use. This is a great help. The use of Skype to conduct a lesson at a distance is great. It works absolutely fine. His site has lots of goodies and is very useful. That, combined with Rafa himself as a teacher over Skype is an excellent way to learn the language." Dale - Netherlands. |
"Dear Rafa,
Just wanted to thank you that you took your time and build this page. In my opinion is the best page for learning Portuguese, I just love your way of teaching! I've already taken lessons in my country but now everything seems much, much easier!
Muito obrigada :)
Ana." - Slovenia
| "I contracted the services of Mr Rafael Tavares this summer to help me in the preparation of a series of lectures I will be giving in Mozambique. Mr Tavares managed to impart to me an incredibly clear insight to the fundamentals of Portuguese grammar and construction, which has boosted my ability and confidence enormously." Dr. Boomer - London, England |
Just want to say that I have found your site on learning Portuguese absolutely great! I am planning to come over to Portugal early next year to live and try to find work. Like you say it takes time to learn a language and that is true, but I do feel much more confident learning Portuguese from your site than any book, class or tapes etc... Thanks for the great site!
Cheers from Melbourne Australia.
Richard" - Australia
| "It's just great to learn with Rafa. His enthusiasm, dedication and humour are really inspiring and encouraging. A student could not ask for a better Portuguese teacher." Jessica - Canada |
"Hi Rafa
Congratulations on your site, which I have just found. I began Portuguese just a few weeks ago at weekly evening class and, despite being a pretty good Spanish speaker, am finding Portuguese pronunciation hard going. Your section on this topic, plus the free lesson at front of site, are a definite help to learn Portuguese.Muito obrigado!"
Harry" - UK
| "I would have absolutely no hesitation whatsoever in recommending in the highest possible terms Mr Tavares to anyone wishing to learn or improve their Portuguese." John - L.A., USA |
"Olá! Eu queria escrever só porque gosto muito do seu site! Eu amo o português!! Eu gosto do que você escreve sobre o medo e a mente quando aprendemos línguas.
Eu gosto de ler coisas sobre como aprender Português na internet. Eu aprendi Português enquanto morei no Rio de Janeiro por 6 meses e falando só com os Brasileiros. Ajudou também ter um namorado brasileiro. Estou aprendendo ainda, todo dia, mas tenho confiança em enfrentar qualquer Brasileiro para dar uma idéa! Hoje em dia tem tantos métodos de estudar. Eu vejo vídeos no youtube - entrevistas, programas de televisão, músicas - e ler os commentarios - isso é muito bom para aprender as gírias! É bom também memorizar as letras das musicas....
Boa sorte! Gostei do seu site!
Stephanie" - USA
| "I have been deeply impressed by Rafa's structured way of teaching and his ability to identify the really key aspects for his students, thus enabling me to advance very rapidly without spending time on less important or extraneous topics." Diane - NY, USA |
"Bom dia, Rafa :)
I like your page and it is very useful for me when I learn Portuguese since I get a lot of information which is easy to understand. Thank you so much for your effort.
Donata" - Lithuania
"Olá Rafa!
O meu nome é Jakub. Eu só queria dizer que eu estou feliz de encontrar o seu site. Acho que ele é muito bom e útil! Eu tento aprender a língua Portuguesa porque tenho muitos amigos Angolanos na minha cidade - Cracovia.
And something I'm not yet able to express in Portuguese... I very much like your way of sharing knowledge and your sense of humour. Muito obrigado!
Jakub" - Poland
"Hi Rafa,
Your site is a really useful resource, and I found your comparison of the personal infinitive/future subjunctive very interesting – I happened upon it precisely when I was struggling to grasp the concept, thinking I may be the only one with this problem!
Alex" - UK
"Hi Rafa
This is a great site! I'm a British ex-pat and I have been living in Portugal for 15 months now, but I am still struggling with the language. I've spent a lot of money on books, CDs and language lessons.
I like the idea of practising my pronunciation by reading out the text but I think the text you have chosen is far too difficult. In my opinion, an easier text with more commonly used words would be more useful and make beginners feel less overwhelmed!
Many thanks again, it's a great site!
Jennifer" - Portugal
"Olá Rafa
I love the website!!! I can see that a lot of long nights and a lot of thinking went into this site.
Cenk." - England