O equipamento está pronto?

• O = the
• equipamento = equipment
• está = is
• pronto = ready

So the sentence means Is the equipment ready?

O is the masculine singular definite article, meaning the.

Because equipamento is a masculine singular noun in Portuguese, it normally takes o:

• o equipamento = the equipment

This is different from English, where nouns do not usually have grammatical gender.

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

Here, está is used because ready describes a current state or condition, not a permanent characteristic.

• está pronto = is ready
• é pronto would sound wrong in this context

A good rule of thumb:

• ser = identity, essence, more permanent qualities
• estar = condition, state, location

So O equipamento está pronto? asks whether the equipment is currently in a ready state.

The accent mark in está shows both stress and correct spelling.

• está = he/she/it is or you are (formal) from estar

The stress falls on the second syllable: es-TÁ.

This accent is important in written Portuguese and helps distinguish the correct verb form.

Pronto agrees with equipamento, which is a masculine singular noun.

In Portuguese, adjectives usually agree in gender and number with the noun:

• masculine singular: pronto
• feminine singular: pronta
• masculine plural: prontos
• feminine plural: prontas

Since equipamento is masculine singular, the correct form is pronto.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Like English equipment, equipamento can refer to:

• a specific piece/set of equipment
• equipment in a general sense

In this sentence, it most likely refers to a specific piece of equipment or a specific unit being discussed.

If you wanted the plural, you would say:

• Os equipamentos estão prontos? = Are the pieces of equipment ready?

In Portuguese, yes/no questions are often formed just by intonation in speech or by adding a question mark in writing.

So:

• O equipamento está pronto. = The equipment is ready.
• O equipamento está pronto? = Is the equipment ready?

Unlike English, Portuguese usually does not invert the verb and subject for this kind of question.

In Portuguese, adjectives often come after the noun.

So:

• equipamento pronto = ready equipment

In this sentence, the structure is:

• O equipamento = subject
• está pronto = predicate

This is very natural Portuguese word order.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

oo eh-kee-pah-MEN-too es-TAH PRON-too?

A few notes:

• equipamento has the stress on men: e-qui-pa-MEN-to
• está has the stress on tá
• pronto in Brazilian Portuguese often sounds roughly like PRON-too
• The final o in many Brazilian accents sounds closer to oo

This is only an approximation for English speakers, but it can help at first.

In standard Portuguese, you would normally keep the article and say:

• O equipamento está pronto?

Leaving out the article can sound unnatural in many situations, especially in Brazilian Portuguese, where articles are used quite often.

So for a learner, O equipamento está pronto? is the safest and most natural choice.

Yes, depending on what you mean.

For example:

• O equipamento está preparado? = Is the equipment prepared?
• O equipamento está disponível? = Is the equipment available?
• O equipamento está funcionando? = Is the equipment working?

But pronto is the most direct and natural way to say ready in this sentence.

It is neutral and works in both formal and informal situations.

You could use it:

• at work
• in a factory
• in a lab
• in technical support
• in everyday conversation

Because equipamento is a fairly standard word, the sentence sounds natural in professional contexts especially.