Original post by Viceroy- | Archived post
If you need help with Indefinite Articles, click here
Here's all there is to Definite Articles
I will number each section so that you can easily refer to what section you are talking about if you want to ask any questions.
Section 1 -Basics
In English, we only have one form for all nouns - the. In Portuguese, the form of the definite article depends on the gender of the noun (something we don't have in English), and the number (single or plural - Dog/Dogs).
- O - If the noun is single and masculine
- Os - If the noun is plural and masculine
- A - if the noun is single and feminine
- As - if the noun is plural and feminine
Here are some examples:
- O jornal - The newspaper
- Os motores - The motors
- A besta - The beast
- As Mulheres - The women
The genders of the nouns don't follow common sense (some things you would associate with women are masculine words). As a general rule, words ending in:
- a, ção, ade or gem are usually femenine
- o, l, r or a are usually masculine
Section 2 - Contractions of prepositions with definite articles
Heres something I struggled with. I can't remember if Duolingo even properly explained it to me or I just forgot. I would see worlds like 'do', 'pelo' and 'das' in sentences and not have any idea what they meant or how they got there. This was one of the things that made me want to give up because I just felt completely lost.
Prepositions are worlds like to, of, at, in, by etc. They indicate location.
The prepositions a is 'to', de is 'of, from', em is 'at, in, on' and por is 'by, for, through'.
When combining these with definite articles, you have to alter the preposition (it sill means the same though) before you can stick the article on at the end. When combining Definite Articles and Prepositions, you are just basically contracting the two words just how like in English we will say 'Don't' instead of 'Do not'. Changing the preposition in this way so that it can be contracted would be to reduce its form
a doesn't have a reduced form, so when combining with O it becomes ao, with Os it becomes aos, with A it becomes à and with As becomes às.
de when reduced becomes d, so when combining with O becomes do, with Os becomes dos, with A becomes da and with As becomes das.
em when reduced becomes n, so when combining with O becomes no, with Os becomes nos, with A becomes na and with As becomes nas.
por when reduced becomes pel and it follows the same rules as the above two: just add o, os, a or as depending on what you're combing it with.
Section 3 - How Definite Articles are used in Portuguese compared to English
For the most part, Portuguese use is mostly similar to the use of the word 'the' in English. Portuguese uses definite articles in the following cases where English does not:
- With nouns used in the general, non specific sense - Os gatos gostam de peixe = The cats like fish
- With the names of most countries - O Brasil. There are a few exceptions to this but I wouldn't worry about it at this stage
- Names of languages, unless the name of the language comes after a verb closely associated with it such as 'aprender - learn' or 'entender - understand'.
- With titles of a proper name: 'o sehnor Jose - Mr Jose', 'o presidente Hollande - President Hollande', 'a doutora Claire - Dr Claire'. When you address the person in a question, then you don't need the definite article: 'Bom dia, Presidente Hollande - Good morning, President Hollande'.
- With Proper names - 'o John' and 'o Pele'. The use of definite articles in this case is usually avoided in formal written language. It is used in spoken language, expect when you are addressing the person directly.
- Names of companies, bars, TV stations, sports teams etc.
- Before possessive adjectives (teu, seu, nosso, meu etc) (your/our/theirs etc). This was one of the things that I found most confusing when I started learning. I would see sentences like: 'O meu sapatos' and stare at my screen wondering why on earth a Definitive Article was used. Im sure people learning English have also questioned the strangeness of our language compared to theirs.
- Where English uses a possessive adjective before a part of the body, item of clothing or family member that or who belongs to the subject of the sentence, Portuguese uses a definite article. Example: Coloque a mão na cabeça - Put your hand on your head
Section 4 - Replacing a noun with a definite article to avoid repetition
You add the appropriate form of the definite alone before the words que 'which', de 'of'; an adjective or a possessive that refers back to a noun that has been mentioned before. Here are some examples:
- Vi a foto do Davi e a do Pedro -
I saw the photo of Davi and the one of Pedro. - Meu carro é azul. O do meu pai é preto -
My car's blue. My dad's is black. - Tenho que olhar as minhas roupas e separar as que quero levar -
I have to look over my clothes and sort out the ones I want to take.
Remember that we are using a Definitive in these sentences so we don't have to keep repeating the noun. We do this in English by using the words 'one' and 'ones'. In the first and second sentence, the Definite is 'a' as we are talking about a single photo, and 'o' as we are talking about a single car. In the thrid sentence, we are using 'as' because we are talking about clothes (which are plural).