Original post by demibrener | Archived post
"My xx" is sometimes translated to "O meu/A minha" and sometimes to "Meu/Minha". When do I need to use the "O"/"A" before the "Meu"/"Minha"?
Basically, if the possessive is followed by a noun (meu carro, minha amiga), the article can be omitted.
Original comment by Paulenrique
when it is a possessive adjective, you can choose wheter or not to use the article. when it works as a pronoun, you must use the article. examples: my car is better than yours = (o) meu carro é melhor que O seu. on the 2nd example, you have to use the article.
In Portugal the article is always present. So, my train in Brazil is "Meu trem" but in Portugal it's "O meu comboio" (Comboio é a palavra portuguesa para trem)
Original comment by AntonioTav2
As Pauloenrique said, when it is a possessive, the name follows, so you can ommit, but you must use the article when it's a pronoun (in replacement of a substantive). The brasilians tend to ommit the pronoun. The portuguese use it more. Sometimes it doesn't make much of a difference. For example: pt-br) Deixei meu carro no acostamento pt-pt) Deixei o meu carro na berma It means "I left my car on the hard shoulder" (or "I left my car at the roadside") The use (or not) of the pronouns is perfectly understood by a brasilian or a portuguese (as for the word "acostamento" it is not used in Portugal and people will have difficulty understanding).
But there are some subtle differences (for both versions of portuguese). 1) Ela é minha amiga. 2) Ela é a minha amiga. On the first case it means that "she is a friend". On the second it means that she is a specific friend that you previously talked about. It could also suggest that this woman is the only friend that you have.
Agreed. I don't remember how it was in Portugal, but In Brazil we definitely accept both, sometimes with slightly different meanings.
http://veja.abril.com.br/blog/sobre-pal ... ossessivo/
Original comment by Neko844923
What if I have several cars (in fact, I have none)? Should I use "um meu carro"?
Original comment by Marianahleme
No. Or you specify the car using "meu" or you generalize it using "um". Don't put them together. It's like felipebadell said: "um dos meus carros" or "um carro meu". Because this way "meu" is not used as a pronoun to specify or generalize, it is actually an adjective.