A lição principal é importante.

The main lesson is important.

Breakdown of A lição principal é importante.

• ser: to be
• importante: important
• a lição: the lesson
• principal: main

Questions & Answers about A lição principal é importante.

Why do we use A instead of Uma in A lição principal é importante?

The article A is the definite feminine singular article (“the”), meaning this is a specific lesson known to speaker and listener. Uma is the indefinite article (“a” or “an”). If you wanted to say “a main lesson is important” in general, you’d use Uma lição principal é importante.

How do I know that lição is feminine and requires A (not O)?

In Portuguese, every noun has a gender. Many nouns ending in -ão can be either masculine or feminine, so you must learn each one. Lição (lesson) is feminine, so it pairs with A (singular) or As (plural). A dictionary will list the gender, or you can remember that we never say O lição.

Why is principal placed after lição, while in English we say main lesson (adjective before noun)?

Portuguese usually puts descriptive adjectives after the noun: lição principal literally “lesson principal.” You can move some adjectives before the noun for emphasis or style, but with most descriptive words (like principal, importante, grande), the post-noun position is standard.

How would I turn this into a plural sentence?

You must pluralize each element:
• A → As (definite article, feminine plural)
• lição → lições (nouns ending in -ão often form -ões)
• principal → principais (adjectives in -al change to -ais)
• é → são (third-person plural of ser)
Result: As lições principais são importantes.

Why do we use é (from ser) instead of está (from estar)?

Use ser when talking about inherent qualities or general truths. Saying A lição principal é importante states a permanent or defining fact: the main lesson is important by nature. Estar would imply a temporary state, which doesn’t fit here.

How do I pronounce lição, principal, and importante? What do the ç and tilde (~) do?

• lição: /liˈsɐ̃w̃/ – the ç (cedilla) makes c sound like s; ão is a nasal diphthong (like “awng” without the final g).
• principal: /pɾĩsiˈpawl/ – stress on -pal; pr has a tapped r; ci sounds like “see.”
• importante: /ĩpoɾˈtɐ̃tʃi/ – stress on -tan-; initial im nasalizes the i; t before e/i sounds like English ch; final -e is a short “ee.”