Questions & Answers about Este filme é curto.
Both este and esse mean something like this/that in English, but there is a traditional distance difference:
- este = this, something close to the speaker
- esse = that, something close to the listener or not very far from either
In real Brazilian Portuguese, especially in speech, this distinction is often not followed strictly:
- Many Brazilians use esse most of the time for both this and that.
- este sounds a bit more formal or is more common in written language (texts, essays, manuals, etc.).
Using Este filme é curto is perfectly correct and perhaps a bit more neutral or “textbooky”. In everyday conversation, you’d very often hear:
- Esse filme é curto.
Because filme is a masculine noun in Portuguese.
Demonstratives must agree in gender and number with the noun:
- Masculine singular: este filme, esse carro, aquele livro
- Feminine singular: esta casa, essa mesa, aquela porta
- Masculine plural: estes filmes, esses carros
- Feminine plural: estas casas, essas mesas
So you say:
- este filme (this film/movie)
not - esta filme (incorrect, gender mismatch)
In Portuguese, the default position for most adjectives is after the noun:
- filme curto (short film)
- livro interessante (interesting book)
- casa grande (big house)
So Este filme é curto follows the normal pattern: noun + adjective.
You can put some adjectives before the noun, but it often:
- sounds more literary or emphatic, or
- slightly changes the meaning
For curto, putting it before the noun (um curto filme) is unusual and sounds off in modern Brazilian Portuguese. You normally keep it after:
- um filme curto ✅
- um curto filme ❌ (sounds odd/overly poetic at best)
Portuguese has two verbs that correspond to to be:
- ser (here: é) – used for inherent, more permanent qualities or definitions.
- estar (here: está) – used for temporary states or conditions.
The length of a movie is seen as an inherent characteristic of that movie:
- Este filme é curto. = The film’s length is short as a defining quality.
Está curto can be used in other contexts with curto, especially for clothes or hair, where “too short” is usually implied and can change over time:
- Minha calça está curta. = My pants are (too) short (for me) now.
- Meu cabelo está curto. = My hair is short now (but it can grow).
For a movie’s duration, é curto is the natural choice.
Curto means short in the sense of short length or short duration:
Common uses of curto:
- um filme curto – a short movie
- um texto curto – a short text
- um caminho curto – a short path
- cabelo curto – short hair
Other “short” words:
baixo – short/low in height:
- uma pessoa baixa – a short person
- uma parede baixa – a low wall
pequeno – small (general size), not usually for time:
- um livro pequeno – a small book (physically or in amount of content)
You would not normally say:
- um filme baixo ❌
- um filme pequeno ❓ (possible in some contexts, but sounds more like “a small(-scale) movie”, not simply “short in duration”)
For length/duration of a movie, curto is the natural choice.
Yes, both are correct, but they have slightly different focuses:
Este filme é curto.
- Focus: this specific film (pointing, or just mentioned in conversation).
O filme é curto.
- More like The film is short, referring to a previously known film (context already clear).
- No demonstrative; just the film.
Este é um filme curto.
- Literally: This is a short film.
- Structure: Este (this) = pronoun, then you identify it: um filme curto.
- Slightly more explanatory or introducing: “This is a short film (as opposed to others).”
All three are grammatical; which you choose depends on context and emphasis.
Portuguese normally does not use a subject pronoun for “it” the way English does.
- English: It is short.
- Portuguese: (Ø) é curto. – but you practically never say this as a full sentence; you keep the subject (here, Este filme).
In Este filme é curto, the subject is already Este filme, so you don’t need it:
- You don’t say: Este filme ele é curto. ❌
- You just say: Este filme é curto. ✅
In general, Portuguese is a “pro‑drop” language: subject pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, they) can often be omitted when the verb ending shows who the subject is. But “it” as a dummy pronoun (like in It’s raining) simply doesn’t exist in Portuguese. You just say:
- Está chovendo. (literally “Is raining.”)
Approximate Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation (IPA):
- Este filme é curto → /ˈes.tʃi ˈfiw.mi ɛ ˈkuʁ.tu/
Tips:
- E in Este: like e in bed, but shorter: ES‑chi.
- st
- i in este: sounds like shtch → ES‑tchi.
- filme: FIW‑mi (the l makes a w sound before a consonant).
- é: open ɛ, like e in bed.
- curto:
- r is usually a guttural sound (like a French or “h‑like” R).
- u like oo in food.
- main stress on CUR: KOOʁ‑tu.
Natural, slow pronunciation:
ES‑tchi FIW‑mi É KOOʁ‑tu
You need to make both the demonstrative and the adjective plural and masculine, to agree with filmes:
- Estes filmes são curtos. – These movies are short.
Breakdown:
- estes – masculine plural of este
- filmes – plural of filme
- são – plural form of é (they are)
- curtos – masculine plural of curto
Common intensifiers with curto:
muito curto – very short
- Este filme é muito curto.
bem curto – really / pretty short (very common, informal‑neutral)
- O filme é bem curto.
curtinho – “short-ish / rather short / quite short”, but often with a friendly or informal tone:
- É um filme curtinho. – It’s a pretty short little film.
You’ll often hear combinations like:
- É bem curtinho. – It’s really quite short (and sounds friendly/casual).