O caderno está dentro da gaveta.

The notebook is inside the drawer.

Breakdown of O caderno está dentro da gaveta.

• estar: to be
• a gaveta: the drawer
• o caderno: the notebook
• dentro: inside

Questions & Answers about O caderno está dentro da gaveta.

Why is there a definite article O before caderno? In English we might just say “Notebook is inside the drawer.”

Portuguese almost always uses definite articles (o, a, os, as) before nouns when you refer to something specific.

• O is the masculine singular definite article, equivalent to English the.
• If you said Um caderno está dentro da gaveta, you’d be introducing “a notebook” for the first time (indefinite).
• With O caderno, you’re talking about the particular notebook you have in mind.

How do you know that caderno is masculine?

In Portuguese, nouns ending in -o are usually masculine, though there are exceptions. You can tell by:

1. Ending: Most nouns ending in -o are masculine (caderno, livro, carro).
2. Article agreement: You say o caderno (not a caderno).
3. Plural: Masculine nouns take -os in the plural (os cadernos).

It’s often a matter of memorization and exposure to patterns.

What is da in dentro da gaveta?

Da is a contraction of the preposition de (“of” or “from”) + the feminine singular definite article a.

• de
  • a → da
• So dentro da gaveta literally means “inside of the drawer,” with a gaveta being “the drawer.”

How is dentro de different from just saying em or na?

• em / na = “in,” “on,” or “at” generally; na = em
  • a.

• dentro de = “inside (of)” with a stronger idea of being enclosed.

  Examples:
  • O caderno está na gaveta.
  (The notebook is in the drawer.)
  • O caderno está dentro da gaveta.
  (The notebook is inside the drawer—not just in the area of the drawer but fully enclosed.)

In many contexts they’re interchangeable, but dentro de emphasizes the object is fully inside.

Why is the verb estar used here instead of ser?

Portuguese uses estar to talk about:

• Location (where something or someone is).
• Temporary states or conditions.

Ser is for permanent traits, identity, origin, time, etc.
Since you’re describing where the notebook is right now, you use está (3rd person singular of estar).

Can I change the word order to start with dentro da gaveta? For example: Dentro da gaveta está o caderno.

Yes. You can invert the order to emphasize where first:
• Dentro da gaveta está o caderno.
This sounds correct and is often used for stylistic or emphatic reasons. The meaning stays the same.

How would you say this if you’re talking about plural notebooks and drawers?

You adjust both noun and article to plural:
• Os cadernos estão dentro das gavetas.

• Os = plural masculine definite article
• cadernos = notebooks
• estão = 3rd person plural of estar
• das = de
  • as (feminine plural)
• gavetas = drawers

Can I omit the article and say dentro de gaveta instead of dentro da gaveta?

No. In Portuguese you normally cannot drop the definite article before a singular countable noun in this context.

• Dentro de gaveta sounds unnatural and is grammatically incorrect.
  You need dentro de plus the correct article (da for feminine singular).