Na mochila dela também há um lápis e uma borracha pequenos.

Na is a contraction of em + a.

• em = in / on / at
• a = the feminine singular article the

So:

• na mochila = in the backpack

Because mochila is feminine, Portuguese uses a, and em + a becomes na.

Related forms:

• no = em + o
• nos = em + os
• nas = em + as

Portuguese often uses dela to make possession clear.

• a mochila dela = her backpack
• literally: the backpack of her

This is very common because sua can be ambiguous. Depending on context, sua might mean:

• his
• her
• your (formal)
• sometimes even their

So dela is often preferred when the speaker wants to be very clear that it means hers.

Também means also / too / as well.

In this sentence, it shows that the backpack contains these items in addition to something else already mentioned.

So:

• Na mochila dela também há... = In her backpack there is also...

Its position is fairly flexible in Portuguese. You could also hear:

• Também há um lápis...
• Há também um lápis...

The meaning stays basically the same, though the emphasis shifts slightly.

Há is the present tense of the verb haver, and in this kind of sentence it means there is / there are.

So:

• há um lápis = there is a pencil
• há um lápis e uma borracha = there is/are a pencil and an eraser

This is one of the standard ways to express existence in Portuguese.

A very important point: in existential sentences like this, haver does not mean to have in the usual possession sense. Here it means to exist / to be present.

Because existential haver is impersonal in Portuguese.

That means it stays in the singular, even if what comes after it is plural.

So Portuguese says:

• Há um lápis.
• Há dois lápis.
• Há um lápis e uma borracha.

It does not change to agree with the things mentioned afterward.

This is different from English, where we say there is for singular and there are for plural.

Yes — in everyday Brazilian Portuguese, tem is extremely common in this meaning.

So in speech, many Brazilians would naturally say:

• Na mochila dela também tem um lápis e uma borracha pequenos.

That sounds normal and natural in conversation.

The difference is mostly one of style/register:

• há = more formal, more typical of careful writing or standard grammar
• tem = very common in spoken Brazilian Portuguese

So learners should recognize both.

Because each noun needs its own article, and the article has to match the noun’s gender.

• um lápis — lápis is masculine
• uma borracha — borracha is feminine

So Portuguese says:

• um lápis e uma borracha

Just like English says a pencil and an eraser, Portuguese normally repeats the article with each noun here.

Because pequenos describes both nouns together:

• um lápis
• uma borracha

When one adjective refers to multiple nouns of mixed gender, Portuguese normally uses the masculine plural.

So:

• um lápis e uma borracha pequenos

This is the standard agreement pattern.

Why masculine plural?

Because in Portuguese, when a group includes at least one masculine noun, the default combined agreement is usually masculine plural.

Yes. It means that both the pencil and the eraser are small.

So the structure is:

• um lápis e uma borracha pequenos
• literally: a pencil and an eraser small
• natural meaning: a small pencil and a small eraser

If you wanted to describe them separately, you could say:

• um lápis pequeno e uma borracha pequena

That is also correct.

The version with one plural adjective after both nouns is very natural.

Portuguese often places one adjective after a group of nouns when the same adjective applies to all of them.

So instead of saying:

• um lápis pequeno e uma borracha pequena

you can say:

• um lápis e uma borracha pequenos

This avoids repetition and sounds natural.

Both are correct, but the second version is more compact.

Portuguese often puts location or context first, especially when setting the scene.

So:

• Na mochila dela também há...

puts the focus first on where the objects are.

This is similar to English sentences like:

• In her backpack, there is also...

You could also rearrange it:

• Também há um lápis e uma borracha pequenos na mochila dela.
• Há também um lápis e uma borracha pequenos na mochila dela.

These are all grammatical, but the original sentence highlights the location first.

Because há is used to say that something exists / is present somewhere, while estar is used to say where a specific known thing is located.

Compare:

• Na mochila dela há um lápis.
  = There is a pencil in her backpack.

• O lápis está na mochila dela.
  = The pencil is in her backpack.

So:

• há introduces the existence of something
• está/estão locates something already identified

Yes, lápis is masculine:

• um lápis
• o lápis

Portuguese noun gender is not always predictable from the ending, so this is something you simply learn with the word.

Even though lápis ends in -is, it is masculine, and that is why the sentence uses:

• um lápis

not uma lápis.