O suspeito estava perto da delegacia.

In Portuguese, it is very common to use the definite article before a noun: o suspeito = the suspect.

If you say just suspeito, it can sound less natural in a normal statement unless you are using it in a headline, note, or very specific context.

So:

• o suspeito = the suspect
• um suspeito = a suspect
• suspeito by itself = possible in some contexts, but not the most neutral everyday choice here

Yes. Suspeito can be:

• a noun: the suspect
• an adjective: suspicious

In this sentence, it is a noun because it comes with the article o and refers to a person:

• O suspeito estava perto da delegacia. = The suspect was near the police station.

As an adjective, it could be used like this:

• Isso é suspeito. = That is suspicious.

Estava is the imperfect form of estar.

Here, estar is used because it talks about location or position:

• estar perto = to be near

So estava perto da delegacia means was near the police station.

The imperfect estava often gives a sense like:

• was
• used to be
• was in the middle of being

In this sentence, it simply describes where the suspect was at that time.

Because Portuguese usually uses estar for location, not ser.

Compare:

• O suspeito estava perto da delegacia. = The suspect was near the police station.
• O suspeito era alto. = The suspect was tall.

A simple way to remember it:

• ser = identity, essential characteristics
• estar = location, condition, temporary state

So near the police station is a location, which is why estar is the correct verb.

Perto means near or close, but it normally works with the preposition de:

• perto de = near / close to

So the full structure is:

• perto de a delegacia

But in Portuguese, de + a contracts to da:

• de + a = da

That is why you get:

• perto da delegacia

Other similar contractions:

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

Example:

• perto do carro = near the car
• perto das casas = near the houses

In Brazilian Portuguese, delegacia usually means a police station, especially the place where police reports are made and investigations are handled.

It is a very common everyday word in Brazil.

A few useful related words:

• delegacia = police station
• polícia = police
• delegado = police chief / police commissioner
• delegada = female police chief / police commissioner

So in this sentence, delegacia is best understood as police station.

Because delegacia is a feminine noun in Portuguese, so it takes feminine articles:

• a delegacia = the police station
• da delegacia = of/from the police station, or after perto, near the police station

This also affects agreement in other contexts.

For example:

• a delegacia nova = the new police station

If the noun were masculine, you would see masculine forms instead:

• o banco
• do banco

Yes. Próximo da delegacia is very close in meaning to perto da delegacia.

Both can mean:

• near the police station
• close to the police station

A small nuance:

• perto is very common and everyday
• próximo de / próximo da can sound a bit more formal or more written, depending on context

Examples:

• O suspeito estava perto da delegacia.
• O suspeito estava próximo da delegacia.

Both are natural.

Yes, but the original order is the most neutral and natural:

• O suspeito estava perto da delegacia.

Portuguese word order is often similar to English here:

• subject + verb + location

You may also hear or see:

• Perto da delegacia, o suspeito estava.

But this sounds more marked, literary, or emphatic. It is not the most normal everyday way to say it.

So for learners, the safest pattern is:

• O suspeito
  • estava
    • perto da delegacia

You would change the article and noun to match gender and number.

Masculine singular

• O suspeito estava perto da delegacia.

Feminine singular

• A suspeita estava perto da delegacia.

Masculine plural

• Os suspeitos estavam perto da delegacia.

Feminine plural

• As suspeitas estavam perto da delegacia.

Notice that the verb also changes in the plural:

• estava → estavam

A simple approximate pronunciation for an English speaker is:

• O suspeito estava perto da delegacia
• oo soos-PEY-too es-TAH-vah PEHR-too dah deh-leh-gah-SEE-ah

A few helpful notes:

• suspeito has stress on pei
• estava has stress on ta
• perto sounds like PEHR-too
• delegacia has stress on ci: de-le-ga-CI-a

Also, in natural Brazilian speech, estava is often reduced in casual conversation:

• tava

So you may hear:

• O suspeito tava perto da delegacia.

That is common in speech, but estava is the full standard form.