O gato é pequeno.

to be

Breakdown of O gato é pequeno.

• pequeno: small
• o gato: the cat

Questions & Answers about O gato é pequeno.

Why does the sentence include O before gato?

In Portuguese, nouns are almost always used with an article or determiner. Here, O is the masculine singular definite article, meaning the. It indicates a specific cat rather than any cat in general.

Why do we use é instead of está?

Portuguese has two verbs for "to be": ser and estar. The verb ser (conjugated as é here) is used for permanent or long-lasting characteristics (e.g., being small by nature), while estar usually indicates a temporary or changing state (like mood or location). Here, gato é pequeno expresses a permanent trait.

Why is pequeno in the masculine form?

In Portuguese, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. Gato is a masculine noun, so the adjective pequeno is also in the masculine form.

Could we say O gato está pequeno?

While grammatically possible, O gato está pequeno would imply the cat "appears small" at the moment or is in a temporary condition. Usually, we describe a cat’s size as a more permanent trait, so O gato é pequeno is more natural.

Does the word order ever change in such a simple sentence?

In Portuguese, the common word order is subject–verb–complement, just like in English, so O gato é pequeno is the typical arrangement. Though you might see variations for emphasis, the standard approach is to keep it this way.