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Questions & Answers about Produto é bom.
Why is there no definite article before "Produto" in the sentence?
In Portuguese, while the definite article "o" (meaning "the") is typically used—resulting in "O produto é bom"—it can be omitted in certain contexts, such as titles, headlines, slogans, or for stylistic emphasis. Dropping the article here gives the sentence a more general or declarative tone.
What part of speech is "bom" and how does it agree with "produto"?
"Bom" is an adjective meaning "good." In Portuguese, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the nouns they describe. Since "produto" is a masculine singular noun, "bom" remains in its masculine singular form. If the noun were feminine, you would use "boa" instead.
Why is the verb "é" used in this sentence, and what does it indicate?
"É" is the third person singular present tense form of the verb "ser." The choice of "ser" (as opposed to "estar") signals that the quality of being good is seen as an inherent or defining characteristic of the product, rather than a temporary state.
How does the word order in "Produto é bom" compare to its English equivalent?
The word order in Portuguese normally follows a Subject-Verb-Adjective (S-V-Adj) structure, just as in the English sentence "(The) product is good" (if you ignore the article "the"). The main difference is that Portuguese sometimes omits the article for stylistic reasons, which is why you see "Produto é bom" instead of "O produto é bom."
Can the sentence also be written as "O produto é bom," and what would be the difference?
Yes, the sentence can be written as "O produto é bom." Including the definite article "o" makes the sentence more complete in everyday usage, equivalent to "The product is good." Omitting the article, as in "Produto é bom," can be used for stylistic emphasis or in formats like advertising and headlines.
Is the sentence "Produto é bom" grammatically complete, and are there any specific punctuation rules to consider?
Yes, "Produto é bom" is a grammatically complete sentence in Portuguese. It consists of a subject ("Produto"), a linking verb ("é"), and an adjective ("bom") that describes the subject. There are no additional punctuation rules needed for such a simple declarative sentence beyond standard sentence capitalization and the period at the end.