Differences Between Spanish and Portuguese - Grammar - Use of The Definite Article

Use of The Definite Article

In many varieties of Portuguese, personal names are normally preceded by a definite article, a trait also found in Catalan but only in certain dialects in Spanish. In Portuguese, this is a relatively recent development, which some Brazilian dialects have not adopted yet, most notably in some states of the Brazilian Northeast. In those dialects of Portuguese that do regularly use definite articles before proper nouns, the article may be omitted for extra formality, or to show distance in a literary narrative. Compare, for example, English "Mary left", Spanish María salió, and Portuguese A Maria saiu. Note, however, that in many Spanish dialects the definite article is used before personal names; thus, la María salió is commonly heard.

Portuguese uses the definite article before the names of some cities and almost all countries except relatively new ones such as Cingapura/Singapura ('Singapore'), and those which are related to Portugal (or with which Portugal has had historical relationships, even though this is a rough rule) and the Portuguese-speaking countries, e.g. a Holanda but Portugal; o México but Angola, a Suécia, but Moçambique. The major exception to the country rule is o Brasil. Also Inglaterra, França, Espanha, Itália in European Portuguese, but with the article a in Brazilian Portuguese. In Spanish, use of the definite article is optional with some countries: (la) China, (el) Japón, (la) India, (la) Argentina, (el) Ecuador, (el) Perú, (el) Uruguay, (el) Paraguay, (el) Brasil, (los) Estados Unidos, etc. The same is true with two continents: (la) Antártida and (el) África; with archipelagos and islands: (las) Filipinas, (las) Canarias, (las) Azores, with some provinces, regions or territories: (el) Tíbet, (la) Toscana, (el) Piamonte, (el) Lacio and with some cities: (el) Cairo, (la) Valeta. Spanish uses the definite article with all geographical names when they appear with an adjective or modifying phrase, as in the following examples: la España medieval 'medieval Spain', el Puerto Rico prehispánico 'pre-Hispanic Puerto Rico', el Portugal de Salazar 'Portugal during Salazar's dictatorship', etc.

Santiago es la capital de Chile. (Spanish)

Santiago é a capital do Chile. (Portuguese)

'Santiago is the capital of Chile.'

Él es de Costa Rica, que está en América Central. (Spanish)

Ele é da Costa Rica, que fica na América Central. (Portuguese)

'He is from Costa Rica, which is in Central America.'

Tengo un billete a/para (los) Estados Unidos de América. (Spanish)

Tenho um bilhete para os Estados Unidos da América. (Portuguese)

'I have a ticket to the United States of America.'

Nueva Delhi no es la ciudad más populosa de (la) India. (Spanish)

Nova Déli não é a cidade mais populosa da Índia. (Portuguese)

'New Delhi is not the most populous city in India.'

La Europa medieval pertenecía a monarcas absolutos. (Spanish)

A Europa medieval pertencia a monarcas absolutos. (Portuguese)

'Medieval Europe belonged to absolute monarchs.'

Portuguese omits the definite article in stating the time of day unless para as is used.

Son las nueve y quince. (Spanish)

São nove e quinze. (Portuguese)

'It's nine fifteen.'

In addition, in most dialects of Portuguese the definite article is used before possessive adjectives (like in Italian), which is not possible in Spanish. For instance, the sentence 'This is my brother' is Este es mi hermano in Spanish, but may be Este é o meu irmão in Portuguese. Nevertheless, in many Brazilian dialects (mostly in the Northeast) and in casual BP the article is not used in sentences such as: Este é meu irmão (although it usually appears in sentences such as O meu irmão está lá).