Breakdown of Ela prepara um prato clássico de peixe.
ela
she
um
a
de
of
o peixe
the fish
preparar
to prepare
o prato
the dish
clássico
classic
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Questions & Answers about Ela prepara um prato clássico de peixe.
Why is the verb prepara in the simple present, and how would you express “she is preparing” in European Portuguese?
In Portuguese, the simple present (presente do indicativo) can describe both habitual actions and general facts, not just narrative statements. Here it simply states that “she prepares a classic fish dish” as a fact or routine.
To focus on an action happening right now, European Portuguese typically uses the progressive construction estar a + infinitive:
• Ela está a preparar um prato clássico de peixe.
In Brazilian Portuguese you’d more often hear the gerund form:
• Ela está preparando um prato clássico de peixe.
Why is the article um used before prato, and could we use o instead?
The indefinite article um corresponds to English a and indicates one unspecified dish. If you said o prato clássico de peixe, you’d be referring to a particular, known dish (“the classic fish dish”). Choosing um makes the statement more general.
How do we know that prato is masculine, and why is the adjective clássico masculine, not clássica?
Portuguese nouns have gender. The article um is masculine, so prato must be masculine. Adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. Since prato is masculine singular, clássico also adopts the masculine singular ending -o. A feminine example would be uma receita clássica, where receita is feminine.
Why do we use de instead of another preposition to link prato and peixe?
Portuguese uses de to indicate the main ingredient, origin, composition or category. Prato de peixe literally means “dish of fish,” i.e. a fish-based dish. Other prepositions like para or a wouldn’t convey that meaning.
Why is there no article before peixe, and why don’t we contract de with an article here?
Because de peixe expresses a general category (fish dishes) rather than a specific fish, we omit the article before peixe. You only contract de + o into do if there is an explicit masculine singular article (o peixe). Here, since it’s just de peixe, no contraction occurs.
Is prato clássico de peixe the only possible word order for this phrase, or could we say prato de peixe clássico?
Word order in Portuguese is somewhat flexible, but the most natural is prato clássico de peixe, where the adjective (clássico) directly follows the noun (prato) and the type or ingredient phrase (de peixe) comes after. Saying prato de peixe clássico isn’t wrong, but it’s less common and may sound like you’re labeling the fish itself as classic, rather than the dish.
Can we drop the pronoun Ela and just say Prepara um prato clássico de peixe?
Yes. Portuguese verbs carry subject information through their endings, so subject pronouns are often omitted unless you want to add emphasis or clarity. Prepara um prato clássico de peixe is perfectly acceptable in context.