Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): O teto do quarto foi pintado ontem, por isso vou engomar a roupa na sala. - The bedroom ceiling was painted yesterday, so I’ll iron the clothes in the living room.

In European Portuguese, teto is the ceiling (the inside surface over your head), while telhado is the roof (the outside structure on top of the house).

o teto do quarto = the bedroom ceiling
o telhado da casa = the house roof

Why is it teto do quarto and not teto no quarto?

Because it means the ceiling of the bedroom, not the ceiling in the bedroom.

do = de + o (of the): o teto do quarto = the bedroom’s ceiling
no = em + o (in the): no quarto = in the bedroom You would say vou engomar a roupa no quarto if you mean “I’ll iron the clothes in the bedroom.”

What does foi pintado express?

It’s the passive voice in the simple past (pretérito perfeito): foi pintado = was painted. The auxiliary is ser in the past (foi) + the past participle (pintado).

Passive (focus on the ceiling): O teto foi pintado ontem.
Active (focus on who did it): Pintaram o teto ontem.
Impersonal passive: Pintou-se o teto ontem.
Result state (not the action): O teto está pintado.

Why is it pintado and not pintada/pintados/pintadas?

Agreement. The past participle in the passive agrees with the subject:

o teto (masc. sing.) → foi pintado
a parede (fem. sing.) → foi pintada
os tetos (masc. pl.) → foram pintados
as paredes (fem. pl.) → foram pintadas

Is the comma before por isso necessary?

Yes, it’s standard to place a comma before por isso when it links two independent clauses. You can also front it:

Por isso, vou engomar a roupa na sala.

What’s the difference between por isso, então, and por isso é que?

All can introduce a consequence:

por isso = therefore/so; neutral and common in writing and speech.
então = so/then; more conversational.
por isso é que = that’s why; adds emphasis to the cause–effect link. Example: Pintaram o teto ontem; por isso/então vou engomar na sala. / Por isso é que vou engomar na sala.

Could I use porque instead of por isso?

Yes, but you must change the order because porque means because:

Consequence first: O teto foi pintado ontem, por isso vou engomar na sala.
Cause after the main clause: Vou engomar na sala porque o teto foi pintado ontem.

Why use vou engomar instead of the simple future engomarei?

In everyday Portuguese, the near future with ir + infinitive (here, vou engomar) is far more common and natural than the synthetic future (engomarei), which can sound formal or literary. Both are correct.

Is engomar the most natural verb for “to iron” in Portugal?

In Portugal, both are understood:

Very common/idiomatic: passar a ferro (to iron)
Also used: engomar (traditionally “to starch,” but widely used for “iron” in PT) In Brazil, engomar tends to mean “to starch,” and passar roupa is used for ironing.

Do I need the article in a roupa? Can I say vou engomar roupa?

vou engomar a roupa: the clothes you have in mind (definite set).
vou engomar roupa: some clothes, in general (non-specific). Both are fine; the article adds specificity. You can drop the object entirely if it’s contextually obvious: Vou engomar.

What does sala refer to here? Is it just “room”?

sala usually means the living room (lounge). Other rooms:

quarto = bedroom
sala de estar = living room
sala de jantar = dining room
quarto de banho = bathroom

Pronunciation tips for tricky words in European Portuguese?

teto: [ˈtɛtu] (stress on TE; open e)
quarto: [ˈkwaɾtu] (QU = [kw]; single r is a tap [ɾ])
por: [poɾ] or [poʁ] (final r varies by region)
isso: [ˈisu] (SS = [s])
ontem: [ˈõtẽj̃] (nasal vowels; final -em is a nasal glide)
engomar: [ẽɡuˈmaɾ] (initial en is nasal; g as in “go”; final r often [ʁ] in Lisbon area, [ɾ] in the North)
roupa: [ˈʁowpɐ] (initial r is guttural [ʁ]; ou = [ow])

Can I move na sala earlier in the sentence?

Yes. Adverbial phrases are flexible:

Por isso vou engomar a roupa na sala. (neutral)
Por isso, na sala, vou engomar a roupa. (adds focus on location)
Na sala vou engomar a roupa, por isso… (fronted location) Keep word order simple unless you want emphasis.

Can ontem go at the start?

Yes:

Ontem, o teto do quarto foi pintado, por isso vou engomar a roupa na sala. You can also leave it at the end: O teto do quarto foi pintado ontem… Both are natural.

Do I need to say eu before vou?

No. Portuguese is a null-subject language, so (Eu) vou engomar… both work. Adding eu stresses or clarifies the subject (e.g., contrast: Eu vou, not someone else).

Why not tinha sido pintado?

tinha sido pintado (pluperfect) is used for an action completed before another past reference point. With ontem, you just need the simple past passive:

Simple past: foi pintado ontem.
Pluperfect: Quando cheguei hoje, o teto já tinha sido pintado.

Any Portugal vs Brazil differences to note?

Portugal: por isso is very common; engomar or passar a ferro.
Brazil: more likely então for “so,” and passar roupa for “iron.” engomar tends to mean “starch.” The rest (articles, contractions like do, na) works similarly in both varieties.