No verão, a rua fica quente.

In the summer, the street becomes hot.

Breakdown of No verão, a rua fica quente.

• ficar: to become
• no: in the
• a rua: the street
• o verão: the summer
• quente: warm

Questions & Answers about No verão, a rua fica quente.

Why is it no verão and not em o verão?

In Portuguese, some prepositions combine (contract) with definite articles.

• em (in) + o (the, masculine singular) → no
• em
  • a → na
• em
  • os → nos
• em
  • as → nas

So em o verão is grammatically reduced to no verão.
Literally: no verão = em + o verão = in the summer.

Do I really need the article? Why not just say em verão?

With seasons, Brazilian Portuguese normally uses the definite article:

• no verão – in (the) summer
• no inverno – in (the) winter
• na primavera – in (the) spring
• no outono – in (the) fall / autumn

Saying em verão sounds strange or incomplete in everyday Portuguese.
So No verão, a rua fica quente. is the natural, idiomatic way to say it.

Why is it a rua and not o rua? How do I know the gender?

Rua (street) is a feminine noun in Portuguese, so it takes the feminine article a:

• a rua – the street
• as ruas – the streets

There’s no perfect rule here; you mainly have to learn the gender with each noun:

• a rua (feminine) – the street
• o carro (masculine) – the car
• a casa (feminine) – the house
• o prédio (masculine) – the building

So a rua is correct; o rua would be wrong.

What exactly does fica mean here? Is it “stay,” “become,” or “is”?

The verb ficar is very flexible. In this sentence it means “to become / to get” (change of state):

• A rua fica quente. – The street gets / becomes hot.

Common meanings of ficar:

1. To become / get (change of state)

   • Ele fica feliz. – He gets happy.
   • A comida ficou fria. – The food got cold.

2. To stay / remain

   • Fica aqui. – Stay here.
   • Ele ficou em casa. – He stayed at home.

3. To be located

   • Onde fica o banheiro? – Where is the bathroom (located)?

In No verão, a rua fica quente, it’s the “becomes / gets” meaning.

Why not use é instead of fica? What’s the difference between fica quente and é quente?

Both are possible, but they emphasize different things:

• No verão, a rua é quente.
  Focus: the street is hot (characteristically) in summer. It describes a usual property.

• No verão, a rua fica quente.
  Focus: the street gets / becomes hot in summer (change from not-hot to hot). It highlights the process / change of state.

In practice, fica quente sounds more vivid, as if the temperature rises when summer arrives.

Why is quente not quenta or something feminine like the noun rua?

In Portuguese, many adjectives don’t change for gender, only for number.

Quente is one of these adjectives:

• a rua quente – the hot street
• o dia quente – the hot day
  (same form with feminine a rua and masculine o dia)

But it does change in the plural:

• as ruas quentes – the hot streets
• os dias quentes – the hot days

So the singular form is always quente, whether the noun is masculine or feminine.

What tense is fica? How would I change it for other subjects?

Fica is present tense, 3rd person singular of ficar.

Present indicative of ficar:

• eu fico – I stay / I become
• você / ele / ela fica – you / he / she stays, becomes
• nós ficamos – we stay / become
• vocês / eles / elas ficam – you (pl.) / they stay, become

Examples:

• No verão, a rua fica quente. – In summer, the street gets hot.
• No verão, as ruas ficam quentes. – In summer, the streets get hot.

Can I say A rua fica quente no verão instead? Does the word order change the meaning?

Yes, you can absolutely say:

• A rua fica quente no verão.

Both versions are correct and mean the same thing:

• No verão, a rua fica quente.
• A rua fica quente no verão.

Putting No verão at the beginning just emphasizes the time a bit more, but it’s a normal, very common way to start a sentence in Portuguese, similar to English:

• In summer, the street gets hot.
• The street gets hot in summer.

Is the comma after No verão necessary?

When you start a sentence with a time expression like No verão, using a comma is standard and recommended in Portuguese:

• No verão, a rua fica quente.
• De manhã, eu estudo. – In the morning, I study.

In short, yes: you should keep the comma there. Omitting it is common in casual writing, but not ideal.

How do I pronounce verão and fica correctly?

Basic pronunciation:

• verão – [veh-RÃW]

  • Stress on the second syllable: ve-RÃO
  • ão is a nasal sound, like the ow in “cow” but nasalized.

• fica – [FEE-kah]

  • Stress on the first syllable: FI-ca
  • i is like “ee” in “see”
  • final ca is “kah” (never like English “kay”).

Full sentence, roughly:

• No verão, a rua fica quente.
  → [no veh-RÃW, a HOO-ah FEE-kah KEN-chee]

(The qu in quente is like k; the te at the end in Brazilian Portuguese usually sounds like “chee”.)