Basic dates: Discussing birthdays

💬 In European Portuguese, the [o] in [o aniversário] is often reduced a lot in speech, so it can sound closer to just [u aniversário]. This kind of weak article is very common: [a mãe] is often closer to (uh mãe).

💬 [da] is a built-in contraction: [de] + [a] becomes [da]. The same pattern gives you [do], [dos], [das]: [do pai], [das irmãs].

💬 Portuguese often says possession with [de]: [o aniversário da tua mãe] literally uses "the birthday of your mother." You can reuse this pattern easily: [o nome do teu pai], [a casa da minha irmã].

💬 [da] is [de] + [a], so [da minha mãe] is the usual way to say "of my mother / my mother's." Same pattern: [do meu pai], [da minha avó].

💬 Months normally come after [em] in Portuguese: [em maio], [em agosto], [em dezembro]. For location, [em] often contracts, but with months it stays separate: [em maio], not [no maio].

💬 To say when something happens in a month, Portuguese uses [em] + month: [em maio], [em julho], [em dezembro]. The same pattern works for birthdays, holidays, and events.