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Questions & Answers about Os livros cabem na estante.
What does the verb caber mean in this sentence and why is it cabem?
Caber means “to fit.” Here it’s used in the present indicative, third person plural, to agree with the plural subject os livros. The conjugation pattern is:
• eu caibo
• tu cabes
• ele/ela cabe
• nós cabemos
• vós cabeis
• eles/elas cabem
Why is there a definite article os before livros?
Portuguese generally requires definite articles with nouns to specify them. Os livros literally means “the books.” In English you might say “books fit,” but in Portuguese you normally say os livros cabem.
What does na stand for?
na is a contraction of em + a. Because estante is a feminine singular noun (a estante), em a estante becomes na estante, meaning “in/on the shelf.”
Could I say no estante instead of na estante?
No. no is the contraction of em + o, used only with masculine singular nouns (e.g., no carro). Since estante is feminine, you must use na.
How would I say “on a shelf” instead of “on the shelf”?
Use the indefinite article uma. You can say em uma estante or contract it to numa estante.
How do I pronounce cabem?
In European Portuguese it’s roughly [ˈka.bẽj]. The -em ending is a nasal vowel, so you don’t pronounce a full [m] sound—just a nasalized [ẽj].
How do I turn this statement into a question (“Do the books fit on the shelf?”)?
Either keep the same word order with rising intonation and a question mark:
Os livros cabem na estante?
Or invert verb and subject:
Cabem os livros na estante?
Can I change the word order to Cabem na estante os livros?
You can invert for emphasis or in very formal/literary contexts, but the neutral, everyday order is Os livros cabem na estante. Putting the verb first (verb-subject) focuses more on the action “fit.”