Arguments
Thief, Victim, Theme · function by frame · Portuguese cloth · working claim, revisable
Voice[Thief] + low Appl(Victim) + complement of the root (Theme)
roubar · ThemeDO · Victim/SourceDAT (a + NP, clitic lhe) · Michaelis Roubaram-lhe os documentos · roubou-lhe o celular · Aulete tdi. + a · a quem roubara objetos de valor
ThemeDO · Source de + person or place · Aulete tdr. + com, de · Roubou do rapaz a bicicleta · Michaelis o carro da jovem estudante · do seu quarto
VictimDO · Theme unexpressed, or Theme in de · Michaelis as viúvas pobres · os turistas de todos os seus pertences · Ciberdúvidas names roubar alguém as the direct-object scheme
A theft, on this reading, has a Thief, a Victim, and a Theme. They are not three equal sisters of one Portuguese verb. Voice adds the Thief. Low Appl introduces the Victim, as a possessor-source inside the verb’s domain: the person who had the thing. That is the same kind of added argument as the dative Victim on robar and on rubare. It is a working drawing. It is not a settled analysis. The root’s complement is the Theme, the thing taken. Priberam calls the conjugation regular and the participle regular. The Dicionário Houaiss, Aurélio, and Luft’s entry for roubar were not opened.
What is different from the English gloss. English Wiktionary prints the source of steal in from (stolen from the gallery, stolen from us, They stole all my money (from me)) and does not print a bare indirect object as that source. One English preposition covers the person and the place. Portuguese prints more than one marker for that person. Michaelis prints the dative clitic beside the Theme: Roubaram-lhe os documentos, roubou-lhe o celular, roubaram-lhe a herança. Aulete’s label tdi. + a prints a quem roubara objetos de valor (Franklin Távora). Michaelis also prints a full a-phrase with the Theme: Roubaram a todos o sossego e a alegria. The older Aulete block prints Roubou-lhe o sossego (Castilho). That a / lhe person is not an English from-phrase.
de of a person or a place. Aulete’s label tdr. + com, de is filled by Roubou do rapaz a bicicleta and by Aluísio Azevedo, cachimbo que o sumítico roubara de um pobre cego decrépito. Michaelis prints Roubou o carro da jovem estudante and, of a place, roubou do seu quarto o perfume. Wikcionário’s crime gloss is subtrair alguma coisa de alguém, and the examples under that article do not fill the person. Ciberdúvidas 34402 confirms that Brazilian Portuguese attests de in an oblique that seems to have the same thematic roles as roubar alguém and as roubar algo a alguém, quoting Maria Helena de Moura Neves, Guia de Uso do Português (2003), só roubava dos ricos, and Francisco Inácio Peixoto, roubar de um homem como Seu Saldanha. The same answer says roubar alguma coisa de alguém may be more characteristic of Brazilian Portuguese, and that dictionary records attest a alguém (it points at Houaiss, which this page did not open), so a is not confined to European Portuguese on that answer. Aulete, a Brazilian dictionary, prints both the a label and the de examples. Priberam sense 5 is the gloss Despojar de and prints no clause. Infopédia’s article, as served, prints no a alguém clause and no de alguém clause.
The person as direct object. Michaelis glosses one frame Despojar alguém de valores ou bens and prints Roubava até as viúvas pobres, with no thing in the clause, and Roubaram os turistas de todos os seus pertences, with the person as the direct object and the thing in de. Ciberdúvidas 34402 names roubar alguém as the scheme with only a direct object. English rob someone is the nearer gloss of the bare person. English rob someone of something is the nearer gloss of the person plus de. Spanish robar prints the direct person in DPD §1b and does not print robar a alguien de algo. Italian derubare prints that flip on another lemma: direct Victim, Theme in di (lo derubarono del portafogli). Portuguese prints the flip on roubar itself.
lhe as possessor. On Roubaram-lhe os documentos and roubou-lhe o celular the clitic is the person, and the direct object is the thing that person had. The working drawing calls that person a possessor-source, the same label this dictionary uses for Spanish le in Le robaron la cartera and for Italian gli in gli rubarono il portafoglio. The dictionaries print the clitic. They do not print the label “dative of possession”. A full a-phrase and lhe are printed in separate strings. A doubled clause is unprinted. me in Aulete’s que me roube meu marido (José de Alencar) does not spell accusative against dative. That line is the seduction sense, not a purse.
Places · who wears which marking
No printed theft line stacks a named Thief, lhe, and a full a-phrase in one clause. Michaelis prints lhe and os documentos. Aulete prints a quem and objetos de valor. The name in a constructed line below fills one of those slots. It does not double them.
Printed a / lhe · direct Theme
✓ Roubaram-lhe os documentos. Michaelis · Jur · vtdi · michaelis.uol.com.br · roubar
✓ Alguém que estava com ela na mesa do bar roubou-lhe o celular. Michaelis · às escondidas · lhe · direct o celular
✓ Roubaram a todos o sossego e a alegria. Michaelis · a + DP · direct Theme
✓ certo sertanejo, a quem roubara objetos de valor Aulete · sense 1 · label tdi. + a · Franklin Távora · aulete.com.br/roubar
they stole the documents from him or her · the person is dative, not from
Printed de · person or place · direct Theme
✓ Roubou do rapaz a bicicleta. Aulete · label tdr. + com, de · the entry’s own example
✓ Roubou o carro da jovem estudante. Michaelis · da is de plus the article
✓ o pedreiro roubou do seu quarto o perfume Michaelis · de of a place
stole the bicycle from the boy · de is the marker English spells from
Printed direct Victim · Theme absent, or Theme in de
✓ Roubava até as viúvas pobres. Michaelis · person is the direct object · no thing in the clause
✓ Roubaram os turistas de todos os seus pertences. Michaelis · direct person · de of the thing
✓ O grupo era especializado em roubar bancos. Michaelis · the place is the object
robbed the tourists of all their belongings · closest to English rob and to Italian derubare
Places of Portuguese roubar: introducer, marking, status, English and sibling marking
| Place | Introduced by (working) | Portuguese marking | Status in the sources | English and sibling marking |
| Thief | Spec,Voice | subject of roubar | structural subject · Priberam: regular conjugation, regular participle · Wikcionário: 1st conjugation, participle roubado · cells include roubo, roubei, roubado | subject of steal and of rob · subject of robar and of rubare |
| Victim · a / lhe, Theme present | low Appl · possessor-source · revisable | lhe · a + NP | Michaelis Roubaram-lhe os documentos, roubou-lhe o celular, roubaram-lhe a herança, a todos o sossego · Aulete tdi. + a a quem … objetos de valor · older Aulete Roubou-lhe o sossego · clitic and full a-phrase in separate strings · plural lhes on the lines checked here is the wearing-away roubando-lhes a pureza (José de Alencar) · the abduction line is singular lhe roubaram a filha (Júlio Dinis) · neither is a purse | English from + the person · Spanish le / a · Italian gli / a |
| Source · de | the printed oblique · person or place · the same low Appl when the person is the Victim | de + NP · do / da | Aulete do rapaz, de um pobre cego · Michaelis da jovem estudante, do seu quarto · Wikcionário gloss de alguém, unfilled in the examples · Ciberdúvidas 34402: de may be more characteristic of Brazilian Portuguese · a alguém is also attested · Aulete’s com in the same label is the accomplice roubava com o pai (Franklin Távora), not this Source | English from · Spanish prints no filled de of the person beside a direct Theme in the lines on that page · Italian place da (dal tegame) beside a direct Theme |
| Victim · direct | low Appl · the case is the direct object | direct object of the person | Michaelis as viúvas pobres · Ciberdúvidas roubar alguém · with the thing: os turistas de todos os seus pertences · no o / a clitic of a theft Victim is in the lines checked here · roubá-lo da morte is Michaelis’s “save” sense | object of English rob · Spanish lo / la in DPD §1b, with no de-Theme in the examples · Italian derubare direct Victim + di |
| Theme | complement of the root | direct object beside a / lhe / de of the person · de-phrase when the person is the direct object | os documentos, o celular, a bicicleta, o carro are direct · de todos os seus pertences is the thing beside a direct person · Priberam Despojar de prints no clause | object of steal · of on rob where printed · Spanish Theme stays the direct object · Italian di is on derubare, not on rubare |
| Place | not a fourth argument in this drawing | de of a room · the place as the direct object | Michaelis do seu quarto beside o perfume · roubando o armazém · roubar bancos · Aulete Roubou uma donzela de casa de seus pais is the older block’s abduction line | English from the gallery and robbed three banks · Spanish Robaron un banco · Italian svaligiare una banca |
Marking map. One letter can belong to several heads. Read the head, then the marker.
- Dative of the person beside a direct Theme. lhe is Michaelis os documentos, o celular, a herança, and the older Aulete o sossego. a + NP is Aulete a quem and Michaelis a todos. The clitic is the person the thing was taken from. On the possessor reading, that person is the possessor of the direct object. The two descriptions name one printed clitic. They are not two printed arguments.
- de of the person or the place, Theme direct. Aulete do rapaz and de um pobre cego. Michaelis da jovem estudante and do seu quarto. Ciberdúvidas 34402 treats Brazilian de as able to carry the roles of the direct-object person and of the a-person. It does not withdraw a alguém from Brazilian Portuguese. The question on that page had proposed that ao menino was impossible in Brazil. The answer does not confirm that.
- com. In Aulete’s label beside de. The filled com line is o que roubava com o pai e com o Teodósio. Those are companions of the thief. They are not the person stolen from.
- Direct object of the person. Michaelis as viúvas pobres leaves the thing out. os turistas de todos os seus pertences puts the thing in de. That de is the Theme. It is not the Source de of do rapaz, where the bicycle is the direct object. Spanish does not print this de-Theme on robar. Italian prints it on derubare.
- Place as object. Michaelis roubar bancos and roubando o armazém. The place is the direct object. No separate Theme is in those clauses. Spanish Robaron un banco and Italian svaligiare una banca are the sibling lines.
- furtar, only the frames that are printed. Priberam furtar sense 1 is Subtrair algo fraudulentamente, sem violência, and the article prints no clause. Infopédia is apoderar-se de (uma coisa alheia) contra a vontade do dono ou sem que ele o saiba, and glosses roubar, with no theft clause in the article served. Aulete sense 1 is Pegar para si, às escondidas (coisa alheia), label td. furtar uma carteira, and label tdi. + de, a filled by O ladrão furtou o carro do taxista. The label names a. That example fills de. Priberam roubar sense 3 is Subtrair às escondidas, furtar. The two verbs are not one legal definition. furtar is not a page.
- The penal wording, only the articles opened. Brazilian Código Penal art. 155 caput, as the Planalto compilation prints it, is Subtrair, para si ou para outrem, coisa alheia móvel. Art. 157 caput is Subtrair coisa móvel alheia, para si ou para outrem, mediante grave ameaça ou violência a pessoa, ou depois de havê-la, por qualquer meio, reduzido à impossibilidade de resistência. The caput of 155 does not add that violence or threat. Portuguese Código Penal art. 203.º n.º 1 (PGDL, DL n.º 48/95) is Quem, com ilegítima intenção de apropriação para si ou para outra pessoa, subtrair coisa móvel ou animal alheios. Art. 210.º n.º 1 is the subtraction, or compelling delivery, por meio de violência contra uma pessoa, de ameaça com perigo iminente para a vida ou para a integridade física, ou pondo-a na impossibilidade de resistir. Wikcionário’s crime sense of the verb says the absence of violence or threat characterizes furto. Infopédia’s verb roubar includes violência, ameaça, fraude ou por outro meio. Michaelis’s Jur line names intimidation or violence and then lists furtar among the glosses. The statute and the general dictionary are both printed. This page does not collapse them. Penalty figures are on the statute pages and are not an argument of the verb.
- Senses kept off the purse. Michaelis Roubaram a criança and Aulete Roubou a criança do berçário are abduction. Aulete que me roube meu marido is the seduction sense. Michaelis roubam os consumidores and Aulete roubando nos pesos are the short-measure sense. Michaelis Roubou um beijo da namorada is the kiss, with de. Those objects are not a wallet.
- Morphology, not a further place. Priberam: regular conjugation, regular participle. The cells include roubo, roubei, roubado. Wikcionário prints roubamos as the Brazilian spelling of the first-person plural preterite and roubámos as the European spelling. Those forms are the cells the entries print. They are not a claim about an endpoint.
Examples
Argument difference. English steal X from Y puts the Theme in the object and the source in from. Portuguese roubar puts the Theme in the direct object and the person in a / lhe or in de. English rob Y of X puts the person in the object and the thing in of. Portuguese prints that person as a direct object and the thing in de. Spanish le matches the Portuguese dative. Spanish does not print the de-Theme beside a direct person. Italian gli matches the dative. Italian derubare matches the direct person and the oblique thing, on another lemma.
Dictionary frames and lines · checked · quoted as printed
Tirar o que está em casa alheia ou o que outrem leva consigo. Priberam · roubar sense 1 · no a and no de in the gloss · dicionario.priberam.org/roubar
Subtrair às escondidas, furtar. Priberam · sense 3
Despojar de. Priberam · sense 5 · no clause
apropriar-se de (bem alheio) através de violência, ameaça, fraude ou por outro meio Infopédia · Porto Editora · no a alguém clause and no de alguém clause in the article served · infopedia.pt · roubar
Roubaram-lhe os documentos. · Roubou o carro da jovem estudante. · Roubava até as viúvas pobres. · Roubaram os turistas de todos os seus pertences. · roubou-lhe o celular. · roubar bancos. Michaelis
Roubou do rapaz a bicicleta. · a quem roubara objetos de valor · Roubou-lhe o sossego. Aulete · the last is the older block, Castilho
subtrair alguma coisa de alguém mediante violência ou ameaça (a ausência de violência ou ameaça caracteriza furto) Wikcionário · crime sense · de alguém is in the gloss · the examples do not fill it · pt.wiktionary.org/wiki/roubar
só roubava dos ricos · roubar de um homem como Seu Saldanha · roubar algo a alguém Ciberdúvidas 34402 · Neves 2003 · Peixoto · the answer’s name for the a-scheme · ciberduvidas · 34402
Subtrair algo fraudulentamente, sem violência. Priberam · furtar sense 1 · no clause · dicionario.priberam.org/furtar
O ladrão furtou o carro do taxista. Aulete · furtar · label tdi. + de, a · the example fills de · aulete.com.br/furtar
Subtrair, para si ou para outrem, coisa alheia móvel Código Penal brasileiro · art. 155 caput · Planalto · del2848
Subtrair coisa móvel alheia, para si ou para outrem, mediante grave ameaça ou violência a pessoa, ou depois de havê-la, por qualquer meio, reduzido à impossibilidade de resistência Código Penal brasileiro · art. 157 caput
subtrair coisa móvel ou animal alheios Código Penal português · art. 203.º n.º 1 · furto · PGDL · art. 203.º
por meio de violência contra uma pessoa, de ameaça com perigo iminente para a vida ou para a integridade física, ou pondo-a na impossibilidade de resistir Código Penal português · art. 210.º n.º 1 · roubo · PGDL · art. 210.º
They stole all my money (from me). · stolen from us · stolen from the gallery English Wiktionary · steal
He robbed three banks. · of their pay English Wiktionary · rob
The string below is constructed, modelled on the printed lhe lines. It is not a dictionary line. Pat continues the named-participant series. A name does not spell function. lhe spells the dative. a carteira is the Theme those lines spell as a direct object. No served line puts this clitic on a carteira.
✓ Pat roubou-lhe a carteira.
RolesHide roles
ThiefVictimTheme
Thief Pat
Victim lhe
Theme a carteira
constructed · modelled on Michaelis Roubaram-lhe os documentos and roubou-lhe o celular · the possessor of the wallet is the clitic · a full a-phrase is not doubled onto lhe
✓ Pat roubou a carteira ao João.
RolesHide roles
ThiefVictimTheme
Thief Pat
Victim ao João
Theme a carteira
constructed · modelled on Aulete a quem … objetos de valor and on Michaelis a todos o sossego · no clitic in the clause
- ✓ Roubaram-lhe os documentos Michaelis · dative · direct Theme · possessor of the documents
- ✓ roubou-lhe o celular Michaelis · dative · direct Theme
- ✓ a quem roubara objetos de valor Aulete · a · direct Theme
- ✓ Roubou do rapaz a bicicleta Aulete · de-Source · direct Theme
- ✓ Roubaram os turistas de todos os seus pertences Michaelis · direct Victim · de Theme
- ✓ Roubava até as viúvas pobres Michaelis · direct Victim · Theme unexpressed
- ✓ roubar bancos Michaelis · place as object
- ✓ O ladrão furtou o carro do taxista Aulete · furtar · de · stealth gloss on the same article
Notes
Working paper · October 2026 · Portuguese micro-entry · Beyond Index 2
Theft in Portuguese is not the single English from. Thief (Voice, subject), Victim (low Appl, a possessor-source inside the verb’s domain, working and revisable), Theme (complement of the root). The Theme is the direct object beside a / lhe and beside Source-de. The person can be the direct object, and de then holds the thing. de of a person may be more characteristic of Brazilian Portuguese, and a alguém is also attested. furtar is the stealth gloss. The penal articles separate a subtraction that names violence or threat from one whose caput does not.
PT micro-entry live
Beyond Index 2
a and de both printed
ES robar live
IT rubare live
DE stehlen live
Sense × language: steal · Portuguese (roubar). The theft sense is the page. Abduction, the kiss, the short measure, and the seduction sense stay off the purse. furtar stays a note. No English steal hub. Spanish: steal · robar. Italian: steal · rubare. German: steal · stehlen / rauben / berauben. French: steal · voler. Russian: steal · украсть / красть. Japanese: steal · 盗む. Polish: steal · kraść / ukraść. Hungarian: steal · lop / ellop. Dutch: steal · stelen. Norwegian: steal · stjele. Bulgarian: steal · крада / открадна. Chinese: steal · 偷. Index 2 does not list roubar.
Working paper.
Portuguese-only micro-entry. Frames were checked on Priberam, Infopédia (Porto Editora), Michaelis, and Aulete Digital (roubar and furtar), on Wikcionário (roubar), and on Ciberdúvidas 34402. The penal caputs were read on the Planalto compilation of the Brazilian Código Penal and on the PGDL text of the Portuguese Código Penal.
Constructed examples.
Dictionary lines and the statute caputs are marked as printed. Pat roubou-lhe a carteira and Pat roubou a carteira ao João are marked constructed. A doubled clitic plus a-phrase is unprinted and is not constructed.
Arity.
Index 2 does not list roubar. Surface count can name a thief, a victim, and a thing taken. The lexicon does not list three co-arguments of one flat V, and it does not list one marker for every line. Voice adds the Thief. Low Appl adds the Victim. The root takes the Theme. com of an accomplice is not a further sister of the Victim.
What this page does not do.
It does not open a page for furtar. It does not quote a Houaiss line, an Aurélio line, or a Luft line for roubar. Ciberdúvidas points at Houaiss for a alguém. It does not treat Infopédia’s gloss apropriar-se de as a printed de-complement of roubar. It does not treat Aulete’s com as a Source. It does not map the abduction line or the kiss onto a purse.
Hierarchy
Not a flat grid of three sisters, and not one from copied onto every Portuguese line. Voice adds the Thief. Low Appl adds the Victim, as a possessor-source inside the verb’s domain. The root takes the Theme.
What Portuguese changes, against English steal X from Y, is the Victim’s marker. The person is a or lhe, or de. The Theme stays a direct object in those frames, as in English. What Portuguese changes, against Spanish robar, is the direct person: Michaelis prints the thing in de beside that person. Spanish prints the direct person and leaves that oblique unprinted. Italian prints the oblique on derubare.
Geometry · roubar beside the dative Source
- English steal. Source in from, person or place. Theme as object. A bare object is not that source. No English page is opened.
- English rob. The person or place is the object. of is printed for the thing in the deprive citations. No English page is opened.
- roubar. Direct Theme with a / lhe, or with de of the person or the place. Direct person, Theme unexpressed or in de. Place as object in roubar bancos. lhe is the possessor of the Theme on the printed clitic lines.
- robar. Direct Theme, indirect Victim (a, le): Le robaron la cartera. With no Theme, le keeps the person indirect. lo / la makes the person the direct object, and the examples print no de-Theme. Robaron un banco makes the place the object.
- rubare. Direct Theme, person in a or a dative clitic: gli rubarono il portafoglio, a quel pastore rubano le pecore. A container beside that Theme is da. derubare puts the Victim in the direct object and the Theme in di.
- furtar. Priberam: fraudulent subtraction, sem violência, no clause. Aulete: às escondidas, do taxista. The penal caputs are a separate wording, quoted above. Not a page.
Open items
- Whether low Appl is the right head for the Victim. The drawing puts a possessor-source inside the verb’s domain, on the analogy of Spanish le and Italian gli. The dictionaries print lhe, a, and de. They do not print that head.
- a against de of the person. Both are printed. Ciberdúvidas 34402 says de may be more characteristic of Brazilian Portuguese and that a alguém is attested, pointing at Houaiss. Houaiss was not opened. Aulete prints both. No ranking beyond that answer is added here.
- Possessor dative against a Source that is not the possessor. lhe on os documentos and on o celular is the person who had the thing. A printed test that separates that possessor from a Source who never possessed the thing is not in the lines checked here.
- Clitic doubling. The clitic and a full a-phrase are printed in separate strings. A doubled clause is unprinted. Not constructed.
- o / a of a theft Victim. Unprinted in the theft lines checked here. roubá-lo da morte is another sense. Not given to the purse.
- Luft, Houaiss, Aurélio. The roubar entries were not opened. No sentence from them is quoted. Ciberdúvidas names Houaiss as a dictionary record of a alguém.
- A passive of the theft frame. Unprinted. Not constructed.
Corpus filenames and sources checked
Dictionary frames: Priberam, Infopédia (Porto Editora), Michaelis, and Aulete Digital for roubar and furtar; Wikcionário for roubar; Ciberdúvidas 34402. Statutes: Planalto compilation of Decreto-Lei n.º 2.848 (Código Penal brasileiro), arts. 155 and 157 caputs; PGDL text of the Código Penal português, art. 203.º n.º 1 and art. 210.º n.º 1. Literary lines are quoted only as those entries print them. The constructed clauses put a printed lhe or a printed a on a named Thief. Houaiss, Aurélio, and Luft’s roubar entry were not opened. Index 2 does not list roubar.
Records the a-dative and the de-Source of roubar, the direct Victim with the thing in de, the possessor reading of lhe, and the printed split between furtar and the penal caputs. Does not open furtar as a page.