Breakdown of A visita ao museu é divertida.
ser
to be
divertido
fun
a
to
o museu
the museum
a visita
the visit
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Questions & Answers about A visita ao museu é divertida.
Why is there a definite article before visita? English often says the visit, but can Portuguese omit it?
In Portuguese, you generally need an article before nouns in specific or generic contexts. Here, a visita refers to a specific trip to the museum. Unlike English, Portuguese rarely drops the article in such cases. Omitting it would sound unnatural.
Why do we use ao before museu?
The word ao is a contraction of the preposition a (to) plus the definite article o (the), because museu is masculine singular. So a + o museu becomes ao museu.
How do we know that visita is feminine and museu is masculine?
Most Portuguese words ending in -a are feminine (like visita). Words ending in consonants (like museu) can be masculine or feminine but often are masculine; you need to learn each word’s gender or check a dictionary. The accompanying article (a or o) will also tell you.
Why does the sentence use é instead of está?
Ser (é) is used for inherent or defining qualities. Since having fun is seen as a characteristic of the visit, we use é divertida. Estar (está) would suggest a temporary condition or location, which doesn’t fit here.
Why is the adjective divertida placed after the noun, and how does it agree?
In Portuguese, adjectives normally come after the noun. Adjectives must match the noun in gender and number: visita is feminine singular, so divertida is feminine singular. For a masculine plural noun like filmes, you’d say filmes divertidos.
Could we say A visita no museu é divertida instead of ao museu?
Saying no museu (in the museum) changes the nuance to the visit inside the museum, implying it happens there. To express going to the museum, you use visita ao museu (visit to the museum). Both are grammatically correct but have different meanings.
Is it possible to drop the article and say Visita ao museu é divertida?
Not in standard European Portuguese. Omitting the article sounds awkward because Portuguese typically requires articles with countable nouns in such contexts. Always use A visita.
How would you make this sentence negative?
Simply insert não before the verb: A visita ao museu não é divertida. Here, não negates the verb é.
How would you say “The visit to the museum was fun” in Portuguese?
Just replace é with the past tense foi: A visita ao museu foi divertida. The adjective agreement remains the same.