Portuguese Phrase
A diretora está no escritório dela.
Meaning
The sentence means “The (female) director is in her office.” It uses the verb estar to locate a person in a specific place and the possessive pronoun dela to stress that the office belongs to her.
When to use
Use this phrase when you need to tell someone where a female director is at the moment, especially in a workplace or school setting. It’s appropriate for both formal and informal conversations.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Adiretoraestánoescritóriodela
Definite article (A)
The article "A" marks a feminine singular noun as specific.
Noun gender (diretora)
"Diretora" is a feminine noun meaning "director" (female).
Estar (está)
"Estar" is used for temporary states or locations; here it indicates where the director is right now.
Contraction (no)
"No" = "em" + "o"; it is used before masculine singular nouns like "escritório".
Masculine noun (escritório)
"Escritório" is masculine, so the preposition contracts to "no".
Possessive pronoun (dela)
"Dela" means "her" and clarifies that the office belongs to the director.
🗨In Conversation
A diretora está no escritório dela?
Is the director in her office?
Sim, ela está revisando os relatórios.
Yes, she is reviewing the reports.
✕Common Mistakes
A diretora é no escritório dela.
Use "está" (estar) for location, not "é" (ser).
A diretora está na escritório dela.
"Escritório" is masculine, so the correct contraction is "no", not "na".
A diretora está no escritório dele.
"Dele" means "his"; the sentence is about a female director, so use "dela".
↔Alternatives
A diretora está no seu escritório.
The director is in her office.
A diretora está no escritório.
The director is in the office.
A diretora está no escritório da diretora.
The director is in the director's office.
Cultural Tip
In Brazilian Portuguese, using "dela" (her) after a location is common to avoid ambiguity, especially when the subject’s gender is already clear. In very formal written Portuguese you might see "no seu escritório" with a later clarification, but "dela" sounds natural in everyday speech. Remember that "diretora" can refer to a school principal, a company executive, or any female head of a department.