A água vem da fonte.

In Portuguese, it is very common to use the definite article with nouns when talking about something specific or in a general, natural way.

So a água means the water. In this sentence, it sounds normal because we are talking about a particular water source.

You can sometimes say just água, but that usually happens in different contexts, for example:

• Água é importante. = Water is important.
• Quero água. = I want water.

In A água vem da fonte, the article is the most natural choice.

Because de + a contracts to da in standard Portuguese.

So:

• de = from / of
• a = the
• da = from the / of the

This kind of contraction is very common in Portuguese:

• de + o = do
• de + a = da
• de + os = dos
• de + as = das

So da fonte literally means from the source / spring / fountain.

Vem is from the verb vir, which means to come.

Here, vem is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense

So it matches a água, which is singular.

A few present-tense forms of vir are:

• eu venho = I come
• tu vens = you come
• ele/ela/você vem = he/she/you come
• nós vimos = we come
• vocês/eles/elas vêm = you/they come

In the sentence, a água vem = the water comes.

Because água is a feminine noun in Portuguese.

That is why it takes:

• a água
• not o água

This is just something you have to learn with the noun. The ending does not always guarantee gender, though many nouns ending in -a are feminine.

A useful point: unlike Spanish, Portuguese still uses a before água, even though the next word starts with a:

• a água
• a alma
• a área

So there is no special article change here.

Fonte can mean several related things depending on context:

• spring = a natural source of water
• fountain
• source

In this sentence, the most likely meaning is a spring or source of water.

So da fonte suggests that the water comes from its source.

In Portuguese, vir de is the normal way to say that something comes from somewhere.

Examples:

• Ele vem de Lisboa. = He comes from Lisbon.
• O leite vem da vaca. = Milk comes from the cow.
• A água vem da fonte. = The water comes from the spring/source.

So vir + de works very much like to come from in English.

A broad European Portuguese pronunciation would be roughly:

A água vem da fonte
uh AH-gwuh vãj duh FON-tuh

A few important points:

• a often sounds like a reduced uh
• água has the stress on á
• vem has a nasal sound, something like vãj or vẽj
• fonte in European Portuguese often ends with a reduced vowel, so it may sound closer to fontuh

The exact sound depends on region and speaking speed, but the biggest challenge for English speakers is usually the nasal vowel in vem and the reduced unstressed vowels.

The accent in água shows where the stress goes.

So you stress the first syllable:

• Á-gua

Without getting too technical, the accent tells you that the first syllable is the strong one.

This is helpful because Portuguese spelling often shows stress patterns, and accents are an important part of that.

Normally, no. The natural form is da fonte.

That is because fonte here is being treated as a specific noun with the article:

• de + a fonte = da fonte

De fonte without the article would sound incomplete or unnatural in this sentence.

Portuguese often uses articles in places where English does not, so from the spring/source is the idiomatic structure here.

Yes, but A água vem da fonte is the normal, neutral order.

Portuguese usually follows:

• subject + verb + complement

So:

• A água = subject
• vem = verb
• da fonte = complement

You might change the order for emphasis or style, but for a learner, the standard order is best.

Because vem without the accent is singular, and vêm with the accent is plural.

Compare:

• A água vem da fonte. = The water comes from the source.
• As águas vêm da serra. = The waters come from the mountains.

So:

• vem = he/she/it comes
• vêm = they come

The accent helps distinguish singular from plural in this verb form.

Yes. It is grammatical and natural.

It sounds a bit simple or textbook-like because it is a very clear example sentence, but a native speaker would understand it immediately and would not find it wrong.

It works especially well in:

• explanations
• school-style examples
• descriptive writing
• simple everyday statements about where water comes from

The main things are:

1. Articles are used more often than in English
   Portuguese says a água, not just water.

2. Preposition + article contractions are essential
   de + a = da

3. The verb form must match the subject
   a água is singular, so you use vem

4. Noun gender matters
   água is feminine, so it takes a

5. Pronunciation is not always obvious from English habits
   Especially the nasal sound in vem and the reduced vowels in European Portuguese.