Breakdown of Tanto o arroz quanto o feijão estão na mesma prateleira.
estar
to be
na
on
mesmo
same
o arroz
the rice
o feijão
the bean
tanto ... quanto
both ... and
a prateleira
the shelf
Questions & Answers about Tanto o arroz quanto o feijão estão na mesma prateleira.
What does tanto ... quanto mean in this sentence?
Why is there o before both arroz and feijão?
Why is the verb estão plural?
Could I also say O arroz e o feijão estão na mesma prateleira?
What is na?
Na is a contraction of em + a.
- em = in / on / at
- a prateleira = the shelf
So:
- em a prateleira → na prateleira
This kind of contraction is extremely common in Portuguese.
Why is it mesma prateleira and not mesmo prateleira?
What exactly does prateleira mean?
Prateleira means shelf.
That is a little different from estante, which usually means a bookcase, shelving unit, or stand. So na mesma prateleira means they are on the same individual shelf, not just somewhere in the same cabinet or shelving structure.
Why does Portuguese use estar here?
Can tanto ... quanto only be used with nouns?
How is feijão or estão pronounced, especially the ão?
The ending ão is nasal, which is one of the sounds English speakers often need to practice.
- feijão sounds roughly like fay-ZHAUNG with a nasal ending
- estão sounds roughly like es-TAUNG with the same nasal ending
The exact sound is not a normal English ow sound. Air flows through the nose too. Listening and repeating native audio helps a lot with this pattern.
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