Nossos

Nossos is the masculine plural possessive determiner in Portuguese, used to indicate ownership by the speaker together with others. It agrees with the noun it modifies in gender and number, as in nossos amigos (our friends). The feminine plural form is nossas, and the singular forms are nosso (masculine) and nossa (feminine).

Etymology and form: Nossos derives from the Latin possessive nos̄t̄er, passing into Portuguese as a standard possessive adjective. Like other possessive adjectives in Portuguese, its form changes to match the gender and number of the noun it accompanies.

Usage notes: Nossos is placed before the noun it modifies. It can express inclusive ownership—often including the listener or a broader group—e.g., nossos pais, nossos colegas. In addition to its adjectival use, the sequence os nossos can function as a pronominal phrase meaning “ours,” used when the noun is understood from context, as in os nossos (the ours/our ones). Brazilian and European Portuguese largely share the same agreement patterns, though regional choices may affect stylistic preference, especially in informal speech.

Examples: nossos livros (our books), nossas casas (our houses). In contexts referring to a specific set previously mentioned, you may see os nossos to emphasize “ours” as a unit.

See also: possessive adjectives in Portuguese, nosso/nossa, os nossos. The term is a standard grammatical element in both written and spoken Portuguese and does not denote a separate entity beyond its role as a possessive determiner and, in some cases, a pronominal phrase.