Questions & Answers about Este café está fraco.
Why is the sentence using este instead of esse or aquele?
Portuguese demonstratives convey proximity. Este refers to something close to the speaker (e.g. the coffee in your hand). Esse points to something near the listener or just mentioned. Aquele indicates something farther from both. Here, you’re talking about the coffee you’re holding or tasting right now, so este is the best choice.
What’s the difference between está and é? Could I say Este café é fraco?
Estar (está) describes a temporary state or condition. Este café está fraco means “this coffee tastes weak (right now).” Ser (é) expresses inherent or permanent characteristics. Este café é fraco would imply that the coffee is always weak by nature, which is odd—coffee strength usually varies with preparation.
Why is the adjective fraco in its masculine singular form?
Adjectives in Portuguese agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. Café is a masculine singular noun, so the adjective must be fraco (masculine singular). For a feminine noun like a água, you’d say a água está fraca.
Why does fraco come after está? In English we say “weak coffee” but here it’s “coffee is weak.”