A descida está molhada?

Descida literally comes from the idea of going down or descent. In this sentence, it usually means something like:

• the downhill part
• the slope
• the descent
• sometimes the way down

The exact English translation depends on context. If people are talking about a road, trail, ramp, or hill, descida usually refers to the downward stretch.

Here, a is the feminine singular definite article, meaning the.

So:

• a descida = the descent / the slope

Portuguese usually uses articles more often than English does, so keeping a here is very natural.

Portuguese has two main verbs for to be: ser and estar.

In A descida está molhada?, está is used because being wet is seen as a temporary condition or current state.

• estar molhada = to be wet
• ser molhada would sound unusual here, because it would suggest something more inherent or defining rather than a temporary condition

So if the slope is wet because of rain, water, mud, etc., está is the correct choice.

Because molhada agrees with descida, which is a feminine singular noun.

Agreement in Portuguese is very important:

• o caminho está molhado = the path is wet
• a descida está molhada = the descent is wet

So:

• masculine singular: molhado
• feminine singular: molhada
• masculine plural: molhados
• feminine plural: molhadas

Since descida is feminine singular, the adjective must also be feminine singular: molhada.

Yes, in this case it is feminine, and the -a ending matches that. Many Portuguese nouns ending in -a are feminine.

So:

• a descida
• a subida
• a estrada

That said, the ending is only a common pattern, not a perfect rule. Some nouns ending in -a are masculine, but descida is definitely feminine.

In Portuguese, yes/no questions often keep the same word order as statements. The difference is mainly shown by:

• intonation in speech
• a question mark in writing

So:

• A descida está molhada. = The slope is wet.
• A descida está molhada? = Is the slope wet?

Unlike English, Portuguese usually does not need to move the verb to the front or add do/does/is in a different structure.

Yes, you could, but it is less neutral and less common in everyday speech for this kind of sentence.

The most natural standard version is:

• A descida está molhada?

Putting the verb first can sound more marked, more literary, or more emphatic depending on context.

Yes. In everyday spoken Brazilian Portuguese, está is very often shortened to tá.

So you may hear:

• A descida tá molhada?

This is very common in conversation and sounds natural in speech. In more formal writing, está is preferred.

A natural Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation is approximately:

ah jeh-SEE-dah es-TAH mo-LYAH-dah?

A few helpful notes:

• descida: the d before i in many Brazilian accents sounds like j in jeans
• está: stress is on the last syllable, tá
• lh in molhada sounds like the lli in million for many English speakers

A rough breakdown:

• A → ah
• descida → jeh-SEE-dah / des-SEE-dah depending on accent
• está → es-TAH
• molhada → mo-LYAH-dah

Not always. It often refers to a literal downhill stretch, but it can also mean:

• a descent
• a drop
• a downward movement

Still, in a sentence like A descida está molhada?, the most likely meaning is a physical surface that can be wet, such as a hill, ramp, road, path, or trail.

If you wanted to talk about more than one descent or slope, you would make everything plural:

• As descidas estão molhadas? = Are the slopes wet?

Notice the changes:

• a → as
• descida → descidas
• está → estão
• molhada → molhadas

This shows how articles, nouns, verbs, and adjectives can all change to match number and gender.

Usually, that would sound unnatural in standard Portuguese.

Portuguese normally wants the article here:

• A descida está molhada?

Without the article, it can sound incomplete or unusual unless there is some special context, like labels, headlines, or very telegraphic speech.

The pattern is:

article + noun + estar + adjective

So:

• A = the
• descida = descent / slope
• está = is
• molhada = wet

This is a very common and useful pattern in Portuguese for describing conditions:

• A rua está vazia. = The street is empty.
• A água está fria. = The water is cold.
• A descida está molhada? = Is the slope wet?