Portuguese Phrase
Posso usar o depósito para pagar o aluguel do mês passado?
Meaning
The speaker is asking whether it is permissible to take the security deposit (or any saved deposit) and use it to cover the rent that was due for the previous month.
When to use
Use this sentence when you are negotiating with a landlord, a roommate, or a property manager about how to settle an overdue rent payment using money that was previously set aside as a deposit.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Possousarodepósitoparapagaroalugueldomêspassado?
Poder (Posso)
‘Posso’ is the 1st‑person singular present of the modal verb ‘poder’, used to ask permission or express ability.
Infinitive verbs (usar, pagar)
After ‘posso’, the main verbs appear in the infinitive (usar, pagar) to indicate the action you want to do.
Definite article (o)
‘o’ marks the masculine singular noun that follows – ‘o depósito’, ‘o aluguel’.
Preposition para + infinitive
‘para’ introduces purpose: ‘para pagar’ = ‘in order to pay’.
Contraction do = de + o
‘do’ combines the preposition ‘de’ with the article ‘o’, linking the noun ‘mês’ to its qualifier.
Adjective after noun (mês passado)
In Portuguese the adjective usually follows the noun, so ‘mês passado’ means ‘last month’.
🗨In Conversation
Posso usar o depósito para pagar o aluguel do mês passado?
Can I use the deposit to pay last month’s rent?
Claro, desde que o contrato permita, podemos fazer isso.
Sure, as long as the contract allows it, we can do that.
✕Common Mistakes
Posso usar o deposito para pagar o aluguel do mês passado?
The word needs an acute accent on the ‘e’: depósito.
Posso usar o depósito para pagar o aluguel passado?
Learners sometimes translate ‘last month’s rent’ as ‘aluguel passado’, which loses the reference to the month.
Posso eu usar o depósito para pagar o aluguel do mês passado?
In Portuguese the subject pronoun is usually omitted; ‘Posso eu usar…’ sounds overly formal and unnatural.
↔Alternatives
Posso usar a caução para quitar o aluguel atrasado?
Can I use the security deposit to settle the overdue rent?
É possível aplicar o depósito no pagamento do aluguel do mês passado?
Is it possible to apply the deposit toward last month’s rent?
Posso retirar o depósito e pagar o aluguel que está em atraso?
Can I withdraw the deposit and pay the rent that is overdue?
Cultural Tip
In Brazil the term ‘caução’ is more common than ‘depósito’ for a security amount paid at the start of a lease. Landlords often prefer a written agreement that specifies whether the deposit can be used to cover unpaid rent, so always check the contract before asking.