Esta planta está no jardim.

They look very similar, but they do completely different jobs:

• esta = this
  It is a demonstrative adjective and goes with a feminine singular noun.
• está = is
  It is the 3rd person singular form of the verb estar.

So in Esta planta está no jardim:

• esta planta = this plant
• está = is

A very important difference is the accent:

• esta → no accent
• está → accent on the final a

That accent helps show it is the verb form.

Because planta is a feminine noun in Portuguese.

Demonstratives must agree with the noun in gender and number:

• este = this, masculine singular
• esta = this, feminine singular
• estes = these, masculine plural
• estas = these, feminine plural

Since planta is feminine singular, you use esta:

• esta planta = this plant

If the noun were masculine, you would use este:

• este jardim = this garden

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

In this sentence, está is used because it expresses location:

• A planta está no jardim. = The plant is in the garden.

For physical location, Portuguese normally uses estar, not ser.

Compare:

• Ela é brasileira. = She is Brazilian.
  Identity/essential characteristic → ser
• Ela está em casa. = She is at home.
  Location/state → estar

So Esta planta está no jardim uses estar because it tells us where the plant is.

No is a contraction of:

• em = in/on/at
• o = the

So:

• em + o = no

That means:

• no jardim = in the garden

In Portuguese, these contractions are standard and very common:

• em + o = no
• em + a = na
• em + os = nos
• em + as = nas

So you say:

• no jardim = in the garden
• na casa = in the house

Not:

• em o jardim ❌

Because jardim is a masculine noun.

In Portuguese, nouns have grammatical gender, and articles must agree with them:

• o jardim = the garden
• a planta = the plant

Since jardim is masculine singular, the article is o. After em, that becomes:

• em + o jardim → no jardim

A helpful approximate pronunciation for an English speaker is:

EH-sta PLAN-ta es-TAH no zhar-JEEN

A few notes:

• esta → EH-sta
• planta → PLAN-ta
• está → stress on the last syllable: es-TAH
• jardim → roughly zhar-JEEN in Brazilian Portuguese

A few sound tips:

• The j in jardim sounds like the s in measure or the zh sound.
• The final -im is nasal, so it is not exactly jeem, but that approximation is good for beginners.
• está is stressed differently from esta, and the accent mark shows that.

Yes, but in this sentence esta is being used as an adjective before a noun:

• esta planta = this plant

If the noun is omitted, esta can act more like a pronoun:

• Esta é bonita. = This one is pretty.

So esta can mean this or this one, depending on whether a noun follows it.

In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, many speakers often use esse/essa where textbook Portuguese might use este/esta.

So in natural speech, you may hear both:

• Esta planta está no jardim.
• Essa planta está no jardim.

Both can mean this plant is in the garden, depending on context.

Traditional grammar often gives this distinction:

• este/esta = near the speaker
• esse/essa = near the listener or previously mentioned
• aquele/aquela = farther away from both

But in everyday Brazilian Portuguese, the difference between este/esta and esse/essa is often reduced.

Still, esta planta is completely correct and important to recognize.

Yes, it is very similar here:

• Esta planta = This plant
• está = is
• no jardim = in the garden

So the structure is:

subject + verb + location

This makes the sentence quite straightforward for English speakers.

Portuguese can sometimes change word order for emphasis, but the normal version is:

Esta planta está no jardim.

Yes. That would mean:

• A planta está no jardim. = The plant is in the garden.

The difference is:

• esta planta = this plant
• a planta = the plant

So esta makes the noun more specific in a demonstrative way.

Compare:

• Esta planta está no jardim. = This plant is in the garden.
• A planta está no jardim. = The plant is in the garden.

Not always. Planta can have other meanings in Portuguese, such as:

• plant (the living thing)
• floor plan
• story/floor of a building in some contexts

But in Esta planta está no jardim, the context clearly tells you it means plant, because a garden is where a plant would be.

Context often determines which meaning is intended.