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Esse livro é interessante.

Esse livro é interessante.
That book is interesting.
FromLesson 20inHardcore Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of Esse livro é interessante.

ser
to be
o livro
the book
interessante
interesting
esse
that

Questions & Answers about Esse livro é interessante.

What does the demonstrative esse mean in this sentence?
Esse is a demonstrative adjective used to refer to a specific object—here, the book—that is either near the listener or has already been mentioned. While it is often translated into English as "this," context sometimes gives it the nuance of "that."
Why does the adjective remain interessante without any explicit gender changes?
In Portuguese, adjectives like interessante have an invariant form for both masculine and feminine singular nouns. Since livro (book) is masculine, interessante is used directly; if the noun were feminine (such as história), the form would remain the same in the singular. Only in the plural does it change to interessantes.
What is the role of the verb é in this sentence?
The verb é is the third person singular present tense of ser, meaning "to be." It functions as a linking verb that connects the subject (esse livro) with the predicate adjective (interessante).
How would you convert this sentence into its plural form?
To form the plural, all elements must agree in number. Change esse to esses, livro to livros, é to são (the plural form of ser in the present tense), and interessante to interessantes. The full plural sentence becomes: Esses livros são interessantes.
What is the difference between esse and the demonstrative este in Portuguese?
Este typically refers to something that is close to the speaker, while esse indicates something closer to the listener or something previously mentioned. Though both can be translated as "this" in English, they convey different spatial or contextual relationships in Portuguese.
Is the sentence structure in "Esse livro é interessante" similar to English, and what is its word order?
Yes, the sentence follows a Subject-Verb-Complement structure, which is very similar to English. Here, esse livro is the subject, é is the linking verb, and interessante serves as the complement or predicate adjective—much like the English sentence "This book is interesting."
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