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Questions & Answers about Isso é sério.
Why is é (from the verb ser) used instead of estar in Isso é sério?
In Portuguese, ser expresses essential or permanent characteristics, while estar indicates temporary states or conditions. Saying Isso é sério (literally “That is serious”) presents “being serious” as an inherent quality of the situation or fact. Using Isso está sério would be unusual because you’d normally reserve estar for temporary moods, emotions or physical states (e.g., Ele está sério – “He looks serious right now”).
What’s the difference between the demonstrative pronouns isso, isto, and aquilo?
Isto points to something close to the speaker (“this here”), isso refers to something close to the listener or that was just mentioned (“that there”), and aquilo points to something far from both speaker and listener (“that over there”). In Isso é sério, the speaker is referring to a point already raised in the conversation or something the listener is aware of.
Why does sério have an acute accent on the first “e”?
The acute accent on é in sério marks that this syllable is stressed and has an open “e” sound. Without the accent, the default stress rules would place emphasis on the last syllable, which would change both the pronunciation and meaning.
How do you pronounce isso and sério in European Portuguese?
In European Portuguese, isso is pronounced [ˈi.su] with a clear voiceless “s” in both positions. Sério is [ˈse.ɾju] – the single r between vowels is a tap [ɾ], and the final o is reduced to something closer to [u] than the English “oh.”
Does sério change with gender and number?
Yes. Sério is an adjective and agrees in gender and number with the noun it describes:
• Masculine singular: sério
• Feminine singular: séria
• Masculine plural: sérios
• Feminine plural: sérias
With a neuter demonstrative like isso, you use the default masculine singular: sério.
Can you say Isso é a sério or Isso está sério?
No. A sério is an adverbial phrase meaning “seriously” as in “do something seriously” (e.g., Levo isto a sério – “I take this seriously”). It isn’t used after é to describe something. And Isso está sério sounds unnatural because ser is needed for an inherent quality here.
When would I use isto é sério or aquilo é sério instead of isso é sério?
Use isto é sério when the thing referred to is right here or just introduced by the speaker (this here). For example, holding a document: Isto é sério (“This is serious”). Use aquilo é sério for something farther away or already mentioned long ago (that over there): pointing to a distant headline, Aquilo é sério (“That is serious”).