A louça limpa está em cima da mesa, e a salada está na geladeira.

Louça usually means dishes, tableware, or crockery. In Portuguese, it is often treated as a singular collective noun.

So:

• a louça = the dishes / the tableware
• not necessarily just one dish

That is why the sentence uses a louça limpa está... and not a plural form.

In Portuguese, adjectives usually come after the noun.

So the normal order is:

• louça limpa = clean dishes
• salada fresca = fresh salad

Putting the adjective before the noun is sometimes possible, but it often sounds more literary, emphatic, or changes the nuance. In this sentence, a louça limpa is the natural everyday order.

Because adjectives in Portuguese usually agree with the noun in gender and number.

Here:

• louça is feminine singular
• so the adjective must also be feminine singular
• limpo = masculine singular
• limpa = feminine singular

So:

• o prato limpo = the clean plate
• a louça limpa = the clean dishes

Portuguese uses estar for location and many temporary states.

Here both parts of the sentence talk about where something is:

• A louça limpa está em cima da mesa
• a salada está na geladeira

So está is correct because it means is located.

A very common rule for learners is:

• ser = identity, permanent characteristics, definitions
• estar = location, condition, temporary states

Em cima da mesa means on top of the table or simply on the table.

Breakdown:

• em cima de = on top of
• a mesa = the table
• de + a = da

So:

• em cima da mesa = on top of the table

In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, this is a very common way to say that something is on a surface.

They are often very similar, and in this sentence both can work.

• em cima da mesa = very common in speech
• sobre a mesa = also means on the table, sometimes a bit more formal or written

In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, em cima de is extremely common.

Also, em cima de strongly suggests position on top of something.
Sobre can also mean about in other contexts, so learners should not assume it always means physical position.

Because da is a contraction of de + a.

The expression is em cima de something:

• em cima de a mesa → em cima da mesa

Portuguese uses these contractions very regularly, and they are not optional in normal usage.

Other examples:

• perto da escola = near the school
• embaixo da cama = under the bed

Because na is a contraction of em + a.

Here the idea is in the refrigerator:

• em a geladeira → na geladeira

So:

• na geladeira = in the refrigerator

This happens because geladeira is a feminine noun.

Compare:

• no carro = em + o
• na casa = em + a

Because a can appear in different grammatical roles.

In this sentence, you see:

• A louça → a = the feminine singular definite article, the
• da mesa → da = de + a
• a salada → again the article the
• na geladeira → na = em + a

So even though several forms look similar, they are doing different jobs.

Usually, no—not in a normal full sentence like this.

Portuguese uses definite articles more often than English. So:

• A louça limpa está em cima da mesa
• A salada está na geladeira

sounds natural.

If you remove the articles, it can sound incomplete, unnatural, or like a note, label, or headline rather than a regular sentence.

Yes, sometimes Portuguese allows that:

• A louça limpa está em cima da mesa, e a salada na geladeira.

This can sound natural in context, especially in speech, because the verb is understood from the first part.

However, the full version with both verbs:

• A louça limpa está em cima da mesa, e a salada está na geladeira.

is clearer and more neutral, especially for learners.

Yes, geladeira is the normal everyday word in Brazil for refrigerator / fridge.

In European Portuguese, frigorífico is more common.

So if you are learning Brazilian Portuguese, geladeira is exactly the word you want here.

In louça, the ç is called cedilha. It makes the letter sound like s before a, o, or u.

So louça is pronounced approximately like:

• LOH-sa

The ç is used because plain c before a would sound like k, not s.

Compare:

• casa = k sound at the start
• louça = s sound before a

This is a very useful spelling pattern to learn early.