A balança perto das frutas não funciona hoje.

Because a is the feminine singular definite article, meaning the.

• a balança = the scale
• In Portuguese, nouns usually need an article more often than in English, especially in normal everyday sentences.

So A balança perto das frutas não funciona hoje. is literally something like:

• The scale near the fruits does not work today.

In Portuguese, every noun has a grammatical gender, usually masculine or feminine.

• balança is a feminine noun
• so it takes feminine words with it:
  • a balança
  • a balança nova
  • essa balança

This is grammatical gender, not biological gender. A scale is not "female" in a real-world sense; it just belongs to the feminine class in Portuguese.

Not in this sentence.

Even though balança looks like English balance, here it means scale or weighing scale.

In a grocery store context, balança is the machine used to weigh produce.

So in this sentence:

• A balança perto das frutas = The scale near the fruit area

Perto means near or close, but it normally appears as perto de.

So:

• perto de = near / close to

Examples:

• perto da porta = near the door
• perto do caixa = near the cashier
• perto das frutas = near the fruits

So you should think of perto de as a set expression.

Because Portuguese usually contracts de + as into das.

Here is the breakdown:

• perto de as frutas would be the full form
• but the correct contracted form is perto das frutas

Common contractions with de:

• de + o = do
• de + a = da
• de + os = dos
• de + as = das

So:

• perto das frutas = near the fruits

Because it refers to the fruit section or the fruits in general.

In a supermarket, das frutas often means by the fruit area or near the fruit display, not necessarily a specific single fruit.

You could also hear perto da fruta in some contexts, but it would sound more like near the fruit in a more general or less natural way for a store setting. The plural frutas is very natural here.

In Portuguese, não normally goes before the verb it negates.

So:

• funciona = works
• não funciona = does not work

This is very standard word order.

Examples:

• Ele não fala inglês. = He does not speak English.
• A máquina não funciona. = The machine does not work.

Funciona comes from the verb funcionar, meaning to function or to work.

Here it means:

• works
• or more naturally in English, is working

So:

• não funciona hoje = isn’t working today

Even though the literal meaning is does not function today, English usually says doesn’t work or isn’t working.

Because the subject is singular:

• A balança = The scale

So the verb must also be singular:

• A balança funciona
• A balança não funciona

If the subject were plural, the verb would change:

• As balanças não funcionam hoje. = The scales are not working today.

Both can be correct, but they feel slightly different.

• não funciona hoje = does not work today / isn’t working today
• não está funcionando hoje = is not functioning/working today

In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, não funciona hoje sounds very natural for signs, announcements, or simple statements about something being out of service that day.

Using estar + gerund often emphasizes the current ongoing situation a bit more:

• A balança não está funcionando. = The scale is not working.

But in this sentence, não funciona hoje is completely normal and natural.

Because adverbs like hoje often have flexible position in Portuguese.

These are all possible, depending on emphasis and style:

• A balança perto das frutas não funciona hoje.
• Hoje, a balança perto das frutas não funciona.
• A balança hoje não funciona.

Putting hoje at the end sounds very natural and neutral here.

Yes, that is the literal structure, but it is not the most natural English translation.

More natural English would be:

• The scale near the fruit isn’t working today.
• The scale by the fruit section doesn’t work today.

So a learner should understand both:

• literal meaning: does not function
• natural meaning: doesn’t work / isn’t working

You could, but it means something a little different.

• A balança perto das frutas = the scale near the fruits
• A balança das frutas = the fruit scale / the scale for the fruit section

So the original sentence emphasizes location:

• the scale that is near the fruit

The alternative emphasizes association:

• the scale belonging to or used for the fruit area

A simple pronunciation guide is:

ah bah-LAHN-sah PEH-too dahs FROO-tahs now foon-see-OH-nah OH-zhee

A few notes:

• balança has stress on lan
• perto in Brazil often sounds like PEH-too in casual speech
• não is nasal; it is not a plain now
• hoje sounds roughly like OH-zhee in Brazilian Portuguese

A more natural connected pronunciation may sound something like:

A balança perto das frutas não funciona hoje.

with smooth linking between words.

Not too different. The structure is actually quite close.

Word by word:

• A = the
• balança = scale
• perto = near
• das frutas = of the fruits / near the fruits
• não funciona = does not work
• hoje = today

So Portuguese and English are fairly similar here, but the main things to watch are:

• article gender: a
• the expression perto de
• contraction: das
• negation with não before the verb