Word
O gato está miando.
Meaning
The cat is meowing.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Lesson
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Questions & Answers about O gato está miando.
Why is there an o before gato?
O is the masculine singular definite article, equivalent to the in English.
So:
- o gato = the cat
In Portuguese, articles are used more often than in English. With animals, people, and everyday nouns, using the article is very natural when you mean a specific one or when the context makes it clear.
Why is it gato and not gata?
Because gato is the masculine form and gata is the feminine form.
- o gato = the male cat / the cat
- a gata = the female cat
Sometimes masculine can also be used in a general sense when the sex is unknown or not important. If you know the cat is female, you would usually say A gata está miando.
What is está miando grammatically?