Word
A situação está difícil.
Meaning
The situation is difficult.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
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Questions & Answers about A situação está difícil.
Why does the sentence start with A?
A is the feminine singular definite article, meaning the.
It is used because situação is:
- a feminine noun
- singular
So:
- a situação = the situation
In Portuguese, articles are used more often than in English, so a situação sounds natural where English might simply say the situation.
Why is it situação and not something like situaçāo or situacao?
The correct spelling is situação.
A few important parts of that spelling are:
- ç = a soft s sound, like the s in see
- ão = a very common Portuguese ending with a nasal sound
- the written accent in situação shows the stressed syllable
So situação is pronounced roughly like see-too-ah-SOWN, but with a nasal ending rather than a full English own sound.
Why does Portuguese use está here instead of é?