O café tem bom sabor.

Coffee has good taste.

Breakdown of O café tem bom sabor.

• bom: good
• o café: the coffee
• ter: to have
• o sabor: the taste

Questions & Answers about O café tem bom sabor.

What does the definite article O signify in this sentence?

O translates as “the” in English. It is used here to denote that we’re talking about a specific coffee. Since café is a masculine singular noun, the article also appears in its masculine singular form.

How does the verb tem function in this sentence?

Tem is the third-person singular form of the verb ter, which means “to have.” In this construction, it is used to indicate that the coffee possesses or “has” a good taste, rather than describing a temporary state.

Why is there no article before bom sabor? Wouldn’t it be um bom sabor?

In Portuguese, when expressing an inherent quality or characteristic like taste, it is common to omit the indefinite article. Both O café tem bom sabor and O café tem um bom sabor are acceptable. Omitting the article emphasizes that good taste is an inherent property of the coffee.

How do adjectives agree with nouns in this sentence?

Portuguese adjectives must agree with the noun they modify in gender and number. Here, sabor is a masculine singular noun, so bom remains in its masculine singular form. If the noun were feminine or plural, the adjective would need to change to match (e.g., boa for feminine singular).