Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Brazil): O jornal está em cima da mesa.

estar is used for:
- location/position: where something is
- temporary states/conditions
ser is used for:
- identity, characteristics, what something is
- permanent or defining traits

In O jornal está em cima da mesa, we’re talking about the location of the newspaper (where it is right now), so we must use estar:

O jornal está em cima da mesa.
⇒ The newspaper is (located) on the table.

Using é here (O jornal é em cima da mesa) is incorrect in Portuguese.

Why is it O jornal and not Um jornal?

O is the definite article (the), and um is the indefinite article (a / one).

O jornal está em cima da mesa.
⇒ The newspaper is on the table.
(Refers to a specific newspaper that both speakers know about.)
Um jornal está em cima da mesa.
⇒ A / One newspaper is on the table.
(Introduces some newspaper, not previously specified.)

Most of the time, in a simple context like this, speakers imagine a specific newspaper, so o jornal is more natural.

Why is it O jornal (masculine) but da mesa (feminine)? How do I know the genders?

In Portuguese, nouns have grammatical gender:

jornal is masculine:
- o jornal = the newspaper
mesa is feminine:
- a mesa = the table

There is no logical reason here; it’s just vocabulary you must memorize. However, some patterns:

Many words ending in -o are masculine: o carro, o livro, o jornal.
Many words ending in -a are feminine: a mesa, a casa, a porta.

Because jornal is masculine, we use o.
Because mesa is feminine, we use a (and that affects the contraction da, explained next).

What exactly does da mean in em cima da mesa?

da is a contraction of:

de
- a = da

So em cima da mesa literally is:

em cima de a mesa → em cima da mesa
⇒ on top of the table

In Portuguese, de and a almost always contract:

de + o → do (masculine)
de + a → da (feminine)
de + os → dos
de + as → das

So you never say em cima de a mesa; it must be em cima da mesa.

What does em cima de literally mean, and how is it different from just em?

Literally:

em = in / at / on
cima = top
em cima de = on top of

So em cima da mesa literally is on top of the table.

Difference:

em is a very general preposition:
- O jornal está na mesa.
  (em + a = na) ⇒ The newspaper is on the table.
em cima de is more specific:
- Emphasizes on top of / above the surface of something.

In everyday speech, em cima da mesa is very common and basically means on the table, not hovering above it.

Can I say O jornal está na mesa instead of O jornal está em cima da mesa?

Yes, you can.

O jornal está na mesa.
(na = em + a) ⇒ The newspaper is on the table.

Meaning-wise, in most contexts, na mesa and em cima da mesa are understood the same: the newspaper is lying on the table’s surface.

Subtle differences:

na mesa can be a bit more general, “at/on the table”.
em cima da mesa puts more focus on on top of the table.

In practice, both are extremely common and natural.

What is the difference between em cima de and sobre?

Both can mean on / on top of:

O jornal está em cima da mesa.
O jornal está sobre a mesa.

Both sentences are correct and mean The newspaper is on the table.

Nuances:

em cima de is very common and very natural in everyday speech.
sobre sounds a bit more formal or bookish, and is also used for about (as in “a book about something”).

For everyday spoken Brazilian Portuguese, em cima de and na are more frequent than sobre for simple physical location like this.

Can I say O jornal está sobre a mesa? Is that natural?

Yes, it is grammatically correct:

O jornal está sobre a mesa.

It means the same as O jornal está em cima da mesa.

In Brazil, though:

em cima da mesa and na mesa are more common in everyday conversation.
sobre a mesa is perfectly correct, but can sound a bit more formal or written.

Can I drop em cima and just say O jornal está na mesa? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

O jornal está na mesa.

In most everyday contexts, this is what people actually say, and it’s completely natural.

Meaning:

In many situations, na mesa ≈ em cima da mesa.
If the context is just “Where is the newspaper?”, na mesa is enough.

So em cima da mesa is a bit more descriptive, but the practical meaning is usually the same.

How would I make this sentence plural: “The newspapers are on the table”?

You need to make both the article and the noun plural, and the rest stays the same:

Singular: O jornal está em cima da mesa.
⇒ The newspaper is on the table.
Plural:
- Os jornais estão em cima da mesa.
  ⇒ The newspapers are on the table.

Changes:

o jornal → os jornais
- o → os (definite article plural)
- jornal → jornais (add -is for plural)
está → estão (3rd person singular → plural)
da mesa stays da mesa (table is still one, singular)

Why is the verb está and not something like fica or tem?

Different verbs, different meanings:

estar = to be (location/state)
- O jornal está em cima da mesa.
  ⇒ It is (located) on the table.
ficar = to stay / to remain / to be located (in some contexts)
- O jornal fica em cima da mesa.
  ⇒ Could mean “The newspaper stays on the table” or “is kept on the table” (habitual).
ter = to have
- Tem um jornal em cima da mesa.
  ⇒ “There is a newspaper on the table.” (literally: There has a newspaper on the table – Brazilian way to say there is/are)

For simple current location of a specific thing, estar is the standard verb.

Does jornal mean “journal” in English?

Not normally. jornal in Brazilian Portuguese usually means:

newspaper

Examples:

Eu li no jornal.
⇒ I read it in the newspaper.

If you want journal (like a personal diary or academic journal), you’d use other words:

diário = diary
revista científica = scientific journal (academic)

How is O jornal está em cima da mesa pronounced, especially the nasals?

Approximate Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation (Rio/São Paulo-type):

O → like English “oo” but shorter: [o]
jornal → [zhoʁ-NAU]
- j = zh as in measure
- r at the start of a syllable often like an h in Rio/São Paulo
- final -al sounds like “au”
está → [es-TA]
- stress on the last syllable
em → nasal sound, like English “en” in “end”, but nasalized: [ẽ]
cima → [SEE-ma]
da → [da]
mesa → [MEH-za] (s between vowels sounds like z)

Very roughly in English-like spelling:
“o zhor-NAU es-TA ẽ SEE-ma da MEH-za”.