O gato está sob a mesa.

the table

Breakdown of O gato está sob a mesa.

• o gato: the cat
• estar: to be
• sob: under

Questions & Answers about O gato está sob a mesa.

What do o and a mean in this sentence?

They are definite articles: o = the for a masculine singular noun, and a = the for a feminine singular noun.

So:

• o gato = the cat
• a mesa = the table

In Portuguese, nouns have grammatical gender, so the article has to match the noun:

• gato is masculine, so it takes o
• mesa is feminine, so it takes a

Why is it está and not é?

Portuguese has two main verbs that can both mean to be: ser and estar.

Here, está is used because the sentence talks about location: where the cat is.

• estar is normally used for location and temporary states
• ser is used more for identity, permanent characteristics, time, and definitions

So:

• O gato está sob a mesa. = the cat is under the table
  
  • location → use estar

Using é here would sound wrong in standard Portuguese.

What does sob mean?