A semana tem sete dias.

A week has seven days.

Breakdown of A semana tem sete dias.

• ter: to have
• dia: day
• a semana: the week
• sete: seven

Questions & Answers about A semana tem sete dias.

Why is it A semana and not just semana?

In Portuguese, it is very common to use the definite article (o, a, os, as) when talking about something in a general sense.

So:

• A semana tem sete dias. = The week has seven days.

In natural English, we usually say A week has seven days without the, but Portuguese often prefers the article here.

If you say just semana by itself, the sentence sounds incomplete.

What does tem mean here?

Tem means has.

It comes from the verb ter, which usually means to have.

Here are a few present-tense forms:

• eu tenho = I have
• você / ele / ela tem = you / he / she has
• nós temos = we have
• vocês / eles / elas têm = you all / they have

So in A semana tem sete dias, tem matches the singular subject a semana.

Why is it tem and not têm?