"A saia dele é branca."
Translation:His skirt is white.
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As Portugal and Spain have once been conquered by the Arabs, or Muslims to be precise, for a long time until the Reconquista, some Islamic traditions have influenced Iberian culture. There is a traditional Arab dance performed by men wearing skirts which is called the Tanoura. Hence this it is not that far fledged and has nothing to do with transgender ... although you could argue that there quiet some transgenders in Brazil nowadays.
Nevertheless it's quiet a neat trick to always pay attention, instead of just typing what's at the top of your mind.
In English, the word you want is quite, as opposed to quiet, which means to be silent
I am quite sure he knows the difference - two mixed letters is usually just a typo.
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The pauliteiros, which are traditionally groups of male dancers, in Tras os Montes in north-east Portugal perform their dances dressed in white lacey skirts.
https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauliteiros_de_Miranda
That is also where the other official language, Mirandese is spoken.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirandese_language
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Though I think lace-trimmed skirts is more descriptive than lacy in this case. :)
https://udruzenjeprijateljaluzofonije.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/untitled2.jpg
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Yes, Mirandese is definitely a minority language. I have heard it spoken and have heard bands local to the area singing in Mirandese. You are probably right that mostly the white skirts of the pauliteiros are lace-trimmed but I have seen some that had a lot more lace than just trimming on the edges. They looked very frilly, hence lacy! NB. I spelt it wrongly in the first instance! Correct spelling is lacy.
Interesting. Makes me want to go see them now. I've been to Tras os Montes twice so far, once for the Grelos Festival & Carnival in Podence.
Thank you for the explanation, and lure. :)
Just saying, if this sentence is about a transgender person it would still be "dela."
That's the point. A man can wear a skirt, so it would be "his skirt." If it WAS about a trans-woman, it would be "her" rather than "his." Also there's no "-ed" on "transgender person."
I was so happy that they used "HIS skirt". It's about time people learn that clothes have no gender. It's just a piece of cloth!
Every noun in Portuguese has a gender. A saia (fem), o vestido (masc).
I tried saying "The skirt of his is white" but that was marked wrong. Isn't that the literal translation?
They use "dele" because "sua" can also mean "yours" and they want to clarify that it's "his," not yours. But in English it would mean "his skirt is white," the other translation would be awkward.
These tricky/unexpected sentences are there precisely to train your mind to translate properly and not just guess, I guess :-D
Exactly. And to teach you actually how much you are learning about the new language. If you ever actually need to speak the language you run out of predetermined sentences really quickly. But Duo teaches you to get the most out of what is a very limited vocabulary.
Possessive pronouns don't decline based on clothing type you stupid ❤❤❤❤❤.