Breakdown of O furto e o roubo são crimes.
ser
to be
e
and
o furto
the theft (without violence or threat)
o roubo
the robbery (with violence or threat)
Questions & Answers about O furto e o roubo são crimes.
Why is there an o before both furto and roubo?
Because both nouns are being presented as specific categories: theft and robbery as concepts.
In Portuguese, it is very common to repeat the article before each noun in a pair:
- o furto e o roubo
This sounds natural and complete.
If you said:
- furto e roubo são crimes
that can also work, especially in a more general, abstract, or title-like style, but o furto e o roubo is a very normal full sentence structure.
So the repeated o is not unusual—it is standard Portuguese.
What is the difference between furto and roubo?
This is a very important vocabulary point in Brazilian Portuguese.
- furto = theft, stealing something without violence or direct threat
- roubo = robbery, taking something with violence, force, or threat
So in Brazilian usage, these are not interchangeable.
For example:
- secretly stealing a phone from a table = furto
- taking a phone while threatening someone = roubo
This distinction is much stronger and more precise in Portuguese, especially in legal language.
Why is the verb são and not é?