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Barney
asking someone's name Hello, is it correct to say "Qual é o teu nome?" Or is it "Qual é teu nome?" I'm confused about when to include the definite article in Portuguese in these types of sentences. Any help would be much appreciated please. Thank you.
Jan 28, 2018 7:00 AM
Answers · 18
2
Hi, don't worry both of them are right. Plus, you can change "teu" by "seu". You can also say: - Como se chama? - Como você se chama?
January 28, 2018
1
Hi Barney! I guess you are learning European Portuguese. In this case, you need to use the article and say "Qual é o teu nome?". Because in Portugal it's mandatory to use the article in this sentence. "Qual é teu nome?" is acceptable in Brazil because it's very common to omit the article in the northern regions. But in the southern regions of Brazil people always use the article.
January 28, 2018
1
It depends on which variant of the language you're learning. In European Portuguese, it is mandatory to use the article before possessive pronouns. Therefore, you have to say 'Qual é o teu nome?' in that variant. In Brazilian Portuguese, it is optional in most cases, such as the sentence you presented. So, 'Qual é o teu nome?' and 'Qual é teu nome?' are both right for us. The exception to the rule happens when the possessive pronoun is not directly followed by a noun and refers to a noun that's been expressed before. For example: 'Este é o meu carro.' / 'Este é meu carro.' (Both work here, because you have the noun 'carro' directly after the pronoun.) 'Cadê o teu?' (You can't leave the article out here, because there's no explicit noun after the pronoun, but the noun 'carro' is implicit in the context and is being referred to: 'Cadê o teu [carro]?') Hope this helps and let me know if you've got any further questions!
January 28, 2018
The Both options are right , because in this case have or haven't the article "O"not change the means.
February 4, 2018
Hey You use the definite article when you want to specify something. Using the article in the mentioned sentence won't change the meaning of the phrase but it's not necessary
January 28, 2018
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Barney
Language Skills
Arabic, Arabic (Modern Standard), English, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish
Learning Language
Arabic, Arabic (Modern Standard), French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish