Os pratos estão na cozinha e a água está na geladeira.

The plates are in the kitchen and the water is in the fridge.

Breakdown of Os pratos estão na cozinha e a água está na geladeira.

• estar: to be
• a água: the water
• e: and
• na: in the
• a cozinha: the kitchen
• o prato: the plate
• a geladeira: the fridge

Questions & Answers about Os pratos estão na cozinha e a água está na geladeira.

Why is it os pratos but a água?

Because of gender and number:

• pratos (plates / dishes) is masculine plural, so it takes the masculine plural article os ⇒ os pratos = the plates.
• água (water) is feminine singular, so it takes the feminine singular article a ⇒ a água = the water.

In Portuguese you normally use definite articles (o, a, os, as) much more often than in English, even with general things like a água (water).

Why is the verb estão with os pratos, but está with a água?

The verb estar has to agree with the subject in number (singular/plural):

• os pratos estão – pratos is plural ⇒ use the 3rd person plural form estão (are).
• a água está – água is singular ⇒ use the 3rd person singular form está (is).

Present tense of estar (singular vs. plural):

• eu estou
• você / ele / ela está
• nós estamos
• vocês / eles / elas estão

Why do we use estar and not ser for this sentence?

In Portuguese:

• estar is used for location and temporary states.
• ser is used for identity, characteristics, origin, time, etc.

For physical location you almost always use estar:

• Os pratos estão na cozinha. – The plates are in the kitchen.
• A chave está na mesa. – The key is on the table.

Ser with location is mainly used for events:

• A festa é na cozinha. – The party is in the kitchen.

What exactly does na mean, and how is it formed?

Na is a contraction:

• em (in, on, at) + a (the – feminine singular) ⇒ na

So:

• na cozinha = em + a cozinha = in the kitchen
• na geladeira = em + a geladeira = in the fridge

For masculine singular nouns, you get no:

• no quarto = em + o quarto (in the bedroom)

Can I say em a cozinha or em a geladeira instead of na?

No, in normal modern Portuguese you must use the contraction:

• na cozinha, not em a cozinha
• na geladeira, not em a geladeira

Writing em a cozinha sounds wrong or, at best, extremely unnatural and old‑fashioned. The same applies to all em + article combinations: they should contract (no, na, nos, nas).

Why are cozinha and geladeira treated as feminine?

Because in Portuguese every noun has grammatical gender, and both of these are feminine:

• a cozinha (the kitchen)
• a geladeira (the fridge)

Clues:

• Nouns ending in ‑a are very often feminine (a casa, a porta, a cama).
• Feminine nouns take the feminine article a (singular) or as (plural) and match with na / da instead of no / do:
  • na cozinha, da cozinha
  • na geladeira, da geladeira

Can I omit the articles and say Pratos estão na cozinha e água está na geladeira?

That sounds wrong in Portuguese. In this type of neutral statement of where things are, you normally need the articles:

• Os pratos estão na cozinha e a água está na geladeira.

Portuguese usually keeps definite articles where English might drop them. Article‑less versions (pratos, água) are only natural in special contexts (titles, lists, very general statements, etc.), not in a simple sentence like this.

What exactly does pratos mean here – plates, or dishes (food)?

Pratos can mean:

1. Plates (the physical objects) – very common everyday meaning.
2. Dishes / courses (meals), especially in contexts like:
   • pratos típicos – typical dishes
   • pratos principais – main courses

In this sentence, with na cozinha, most people would first understand plates or dishes as objects. To make it clearly about food, you’d usually add context:

• Os pratos de comida estão na cozinha. – The food dishes are in the kitchen.

Is there a difference between na geladeira and dentro da geladeira?

Yes, a small nuance:

• na geladeira – literally in/at the fridge; in everyday speech this almost always means inside the fridge.
• dentro da geladeira – literally inside the fridge; it emphasizes the inside more strongly.

Both are correct, and in this context they are normally understood the same way. Na geladeira is shorter and very common.

Can I change the word order, for example Na cozinha estão os pratos?

Yes. Portuguese allows some flexibility in word order for emphasis:

• Neutral: Os pratos estão na cozinha.
• Emphasizing location: Na cozinha estão os pratos.

Both are correct. The normal, unmarked order is subject + verb + place (as in the original sentence), but moving the place to the front is fine, especially in written or more formal language.

How do I pronounce estão, and what sound is ão?

Estão is roughly like es-TOWN, but with a nasal final sound.

• es – similar to English es (like in escape).
• tão – nasal diphthong; the ão is like own in town, but said through the nose, without clearly pronouncing an n or m at the end.

Key point: in ão you do not pronounce the o and m/n separately; it’s a single nasal vowel sound with a little glide at the end: /ãw̃/.

Is geladeira the word used everywhere in Portuguese, or just in Brazil?

Geladeira is the everyday Brazilian Portuguese word for refrigerator / fridge.

In European Portuguese, people more often say:

• o frigorífico – the fridge.

In Brazil you may also see refrigerador, but that’s more technical or formal. In everyday Brazilian speech, geladeira is by far the most common.