Portuguese Phrase
Meu pedido de férias foi aprovado?
Meaning
A polite question asking whether the speaker’s request for vacation time has been granted. It is used in a professional or formal context when the employee wants to confirm the status of their leave request.
When to use
Use this sentence after you have submitted a vacation request to your manager or HR department and you need to know if it has been accepted. It works both in written emails and in spoken conversation, but keep a courteous tone.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Meupedidodefériasfoiaprovado?
Possessive adjective (Meu)
‘Meu’ agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies; here it is masculine singular because ‘pedido’ is masculine.
Noun (pedido)
‘Pedido’ means ‘request’ or ‘order’; it is a masculine singular noun.
Preposition (de)
‘De’ links the noun ‘pedido’ with the object of the request, ‘férias’.
Plural noun (férias)
‘Férias’ is always plural in Portuguese, even when referring to a single vacation period.
Passive voice (foi aprovado)
The construction ‘foi + past participle’ forms the passive voice, indicating that the request was approved by someone else.
Past participle agreement (aprovado)
‘Aprovado’ agrees with the gender and number of the subject ‘pedido’ (masculine singular).
🗨In Conversation
Meu pedido de férias foi aprovado?
Was my vacation request approved?
Sim, seu pedido foi aprovado. Você pode marcar as datas.
Yes, your request was approved. You can schedule the dates.
✕Common Mistakes
Meu pedido de férias estava aprovado?
‘Estava’ is the imperfect of ‘estar’ and does not form a passive construction; use ‘foi’ for a completed action.
Meu pedido de feria foi aprovado?
‘Feria’ is the singular form, which does not exist in Portuguese; the correct word is always ‘férias’ (plural).
Meu pedido de férias aprovou?
Using ‘aprovou’ makes the sentence active and sounds like you are accusing the listener; the passive ‘foi aprovado’ is more polite.
↔Alternatives
Meu pedido de férias foi aceito?
Was my vacation request accepted?
Meu pedido de férias foi concedido?
Was my vacation request granted?
Já tenho a confirmação do meu pedido de férias?
Do I already have confirmation of my vacation request?
Cultural Tip
In Brazil and Portugal, vacation (férias) is a legally protected right, but the dates must be approved by the employer. It is common to ask about the status in a respectful way, using the passive construction ‘foi aprovado’ rather than a direct ‘você aprovou?’, which could sound too confrontational. Also, remember that ‘férias’ never takes a singular form; even a single week of leave is referred to as ‘férias’.