Breakdown of Há muitos turistas na praça esta manhã.
esta
this
a manhã
the morning
em
in
muito
many
o turista
the tourist
a praça
the square
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Questions & Answers about Há muitos turistas na praça esta manhã.
What does Há mean and why is it used instead of Tem?
Há is the third-person singular form of the impersonal verb haver, meaning there is/are. It expresses existence. In European Portuguese, há is the standard way to say “there are,” whereas tem is more colloquial (and more common in Brazilian Portuguese).
Can we use Existem instead of Há in this sentence?
Yes. Existem is the third-person plural of existir (“to exist”), so Existem muitos turistas na praça is grammatically correct and has the same basic meaning. However, há is more idiomatic and frequent in everyday European Portuguese when talking about existence.
Why does há have an accent, and what would ha mean without it?
The acute accent on há marks the stressed syllable and distinguishes it from the preposition or article a. Without the accent, ha is not used in modern Portuguese, so the accent is essential to signal the verb haver.
Why is it na praça and not em a praça?
Na is simply the contraction of em + feminine singular definite article a. Since praça is a feminine noun, em a praça becomes na praça, meaning in the square.
Why is there no article before muitos turistas?
When you use a quantity word like muitos (many) before a noun, you typically omit the indefinite article. So muitos turistas means many tourists in a general, unspecified sense. If you wanted a specific group you already mentioned, you could say os muitos turistas, but it’s less common.
Why is muitos plural here? Couldn’t we say muito turistas?
Muito as an adjective must agree in number (and gender) with the noun it modifies. Turistas is plural, so you use the plural form muitos, not muito.
If all the tourists are women, would we still say muitos turistas?
No. Adjectives agree in gender. If the entire group is female, you’d say muitas turistas. If the group is mixed or you don’t specify gender, standard practice is the masculine plural muitos turistas.
Why is it esta manhã and not este manhã?
Demonstratives agree in gender with the noun they modify. Manhã is feminine, so you use the feminine form esta (not the masculine este), giving esta manhã (= this morning).
What’s the difference between esta manhã and hoje de manhã?
Both mean this morning, but:
- Esta manhã is a direct demonstrative phrase (this + morning).
- Hoje de manhã uses the time noun hoje (today) + preposition de.
In European Portuguese, both are correct; hoje de manhã is often more colloquial in speech.
Could we move esta manhã to the front of the sentence?
Yes. You can say Esta manhã, há muitos turistas na praça. Placing the time expression first is perfectly acceptable and simply emphasizes when it’s happening.