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Questions & Answers about Essa imagem está clara.
What does essa mean, and why is it used instead of esta?
Essa is a demonstrative adjective meaning “that” (feminine singular), used to refer to something near the listener or something already mentioned.
- Esta (with “e”) means “this” (feminine singular) and refers to something close to the speaker.
- In Portugal, you’d choose essa if you’re pointing to an image your listener is looking at or that you’ve just talked about.
Why is the verb está used instead of é?
Portuguese has two verbs for “to be”:
- Ser (e.g. é) for permanent or defining characteristics
- Estar (e.g. está) for temporary states or conditions
Since the clarity of an image is a temporary, perceptual property, you say “está clara” rather than “é clara.”
Why does clara end with -a?
Adjectives in Portuguese agree in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) with the noun they modify.
- Imagem is feminine singular → use clara (feminine singular)
- If the noun were masculine singular (e.g. o vídeo), you’d say vídeo claro.
Why is there an accent on está? What happens without it?
The acute accent on está
- Marks the stressed syllable (es-TA).
- Distinguishes the verb está (“is”) from the demonstrative esta (“this”).
Without the accent, the word would be esta, which never means “is.”
Could I instead say A imagem está clara?
Yes. Portuguese often uses definite articles (o, a, os, as).
- A imagem está clara = “The image is clear.”
- Essa imagem está clara = “That image is clear.” (adds a sense of “that one in particular”)
Can I put clara before imagem, as in clara imagem?
Portuguese typically places adjectives after nouns: imagem clara.
Putting it before (clara imagem) is grammatically possible for poetic or emphatic effect but sounds unusual in everyday speech.
How would I make this sentence plural?
- Imagens (plural of imagem)
- Change essa → essas (feminine plural)
- Change está → estão (3rd-person plural of estar)
- Change clara → claras (feminine plural)
Result: Essas imagens estão claras.
How is “Essa imagem está clara” pronounced in European Portuguese?
A rough phonetic guide:
- Essa: [ˈɛ.sɐ]
- Imagem: [iˈmɐ.ʒẽ]
- Está: [ɨʃˈta]
- Clara: [ˈklɐ.ɾɐ]
Put together: [ˈɛ.sɐ iˈmɐ.ʒẽ ɨʃˈta ˈklɐ.ɾɐ].
Why isn’t there a subject pronoun like ela (“she”)?
Portuguese is a pro-drop language: the verb ending (–á) already indicates a 3rd-person singular subject. Adding Ela (i.e. Ela está clara) is grammatically correct but usually redundant unless you want extra emphasis.