O acendedor está perto do carvão.

O is the masculine singular definite article, equivalent to the.

So:

• o acendedor = the lighter / the igniter / the fire starter

In Portuguese, articles are used more often than in English. A sentence like this normally sounds more natural with o than without it, because it refers to a specific object.

Also, acendedor is masculine, so it takes o, not a.

Acendedor comes from the verb acender, which means to light or to ignite.

Depending on context, acendedor can mean things like:

• lighter
• igniter
• fire starter
• lighting device

In a sentence with carvão, many learners will understand it as something used to light charcoal, though the exact English word depends on the situation.

Portuguese has two common verbs for to be: ser and estar.

Here, está is used because the sentence is talking about location:

• O acendedor está perto do carvão.
• The lighter is near the charcoal.

A very common rule for learners is:

• ser = identity, characteristics, origin, time, etc.
• estar = location, condition, temporary state

So for where something is, estar is the normal choice.

Because perto normally goes with the preposition de:

• perto de = near / close to

So the full structure is:

• perto de o carvão

But in Portuguese, de + o contracts to do:

• de + o = do

That is why you get:

• perto do carvão

This contraction is extremely common and important in Portuguese.

Do is a contraction of:

• de
  • o = do

In this sentence, it is part of perto de, so do carvão means of the charcoal in form, but in natural English the whole phrase becomes near the charcoal.

Other similar contractions are:

• de + a = da
• de + os = dos
• de + as = das

So if the noun changed, the contraction would change too.

It can mean either, depending on context.

In Brazilian Portuguese:

• carvão can mean coal
• carvão can also mean charcoal

If the context is grilling or a barbecue, it usually means charcoal.
If the context is mining, fuel, or geology, it may mean coal.

So the surrounding situation tells you which English word fits best.

They do different jobs.

• está has an acute accent on á to show the stressed syllable
• carvão has ão, which signals a nasal sound

A rough pronunciation guide:

• está ≈ eh-STA
• carvão ≈ car-VAWNG with a nasal ending, not a clear English n

The ending -ão is very common in Portuguese and is one of the sounds English speakers usually need extra practice with.

A rough Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation is:

• a-cen-de-DOR

More approximately for an English speaker:

• ah-sen-jeh-DOR or ah-sen-deh-DOR, depending on accent and speed

A few helpful notes:

• the stress is on the last syllable: -dor
• the d in some Brazilian accents can sound a bit like j before an i sound, but here it is usually a normal d
• the final r in Brazil is often softer or breathier than an English r

It is best to learn it by listening, because Brazilian pronunciation varies by region.

Yes, often you could, but the meaning becomes more specific.

• isqueiro usually means cigarette lighter or a small pocket lighter
• acendedor is more general: lighter, igniter, or starter

So:

• O isqueiro está perto do carvão. = The lighter is near the charcoal.
• O acendedor está perto do carvão. = more general, depending on what kind of lighting device you mean

If you mean a typical small handheld lighter, isqueiro is often the more everyday word.

Yes, but the original order is the most neutral and natural:

• O acendedor está perto do carvão.

This is the standard pattern:

• subject + verb + location

You could rearrange it for emphasis, but it would sound less neutral. For example:

• Perto do carvão está o acendedor.

That sounds more marked or literary, as if you are emphasizing the location.

For everyday speech, the original sentence is the best choice.

Yes, it is grammatical and natural.

That said, whether it sounds fully everyday depends on the object you mean:

• if you mean a general igniting device, acendedor works
• if you mean a small lighter, many Brazilians might more naturally say isqueiro
• if you mean something specifically used to light a grill, the best word could vary by context

So the sentence is correct, but in real life the noun choice may change depending on the exact kind of acendedor.