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Questions & Answers about O portão pintado está fechado.
What is pintado here, grammatically?
Pintado is the past participle of pintar (to paint), used as an adjective modifying the noun portão. It’s a reduced relative clause meaning “that was painted.” So O portão pintado ≈ “the gate that was painted.”
Does pintado agree with portão in gender and number?
Yes. Adjectives (including participles used as adjectives) must agree with the noun:
- Masculine singular: portão pintado
- Masculine plural: portões pintados
- Feminine singular: porta pintada
- Feminine plural: portas pintadas
Why is pintado after portão and not before it?
In Portuguese, most descriptive adjectives normally come after the noun. Placing pintado before the noun (o pintado portão) is unidiomatic here.
Is fechado also a past participle being used as an adjective?
Yes. Fechado (from fechar, to close) is a participle used predicatively with estar to describe a state: está fechado = “is closed.” It also agrees with the noun: o portão está fechado, a porta está fechada.
Why use estar and not ser with fechado?
Use estar for temporary or current states: O portão está fechado (it is closed now). Ser can describe a characteristic or a scheduled/habitual passive: O portão é fechado às 22h (it gets closed at 10 p.m.). For everyday “it’s closed right now,” use estar.
Can I say O portão é fechado to mean “the gate is closed”?
Not for the immediate state. O portão é fechado suggests a disposition or routine (e.g., “it is closed [as a rule]”), and sounds odd in isolation. Prefer O portão está fechado for the current state. For schedules, many speakers prefer O portão fecha às 22h.
What’s the difference between O portão pintado está fechado and O portão está pintado e fechado?
- O portão pintado está fechado: restricts the reference to the painted gate(s); that gate is closed.
- O portão está pintado e fechado: says the gate has two states/properties right now (it is painted and closed), without restricting which gate you mean.
How do I say who painted the gate?
Add an agent phrase with por:
- Attributive: O portão pintado pelo João está fechado.
- Passive clause: O portão foi pintado pelo João. Use por/pelo/pela, not para, for the agent.
Could I use a full relative clause instead of pintado?
Yes: O portão que foi pintado está fechado. The original uses a reduced relative clause; both are correct.
Can I drop the article O?
In a full sentence referring to a specific gate, keep it: O portão… You might see article-less forms in signs or headlines (e.g., Portão fechado), but in normal sentences the definite article is expected.
How do these words change in the feminine or plural?
- Masculine → feminine: portão (masc.) vs porta (fem.), so adjectives change too: pintado/fechado → pintada/fechada.
- Singular → plural: portão → portões (note -ão → -ões), pintado → pintados, fechado → fechados.
What’s the difference between portão and porta?
Portão is a gate (often larger, outdoors, for a driveway, garden, or building entrance). Porta is a door (inside a house/building or a standard door to a room or apartment).
How do I pronounce the sentence in European Portuguese?
Approximate EP pronunciation:
- O [u]
- portão [puɾˈtɐ̃w̃] (flapped r, nasal ão)
- pintado [pĩˈtaðu] (nasal i, final o ≈ [u])
- está [ʃˈta] or [ɨʃˈta] (initial e reduces; s before t → sh)
- fechado [fɨˈʃaðu] (ch → sh; e reduces to [ɨ]) Full: [u puɾˈtɐ̃w̃ pĩˈtaðu ʃˈta fɨˈʃaðu]
What does the tilde in portão indicate?
The tilde on ã marks nasalization. -ão is a nasal diphthong roughly like the vowel in English “own” but nasal. Words ending in -ão are typically stressed on that final syllable.
How do I talk about color or technique with pintado?
- Color: pintado de [cor] (e.g., pintado de azul, pintado de branco).
- Technique/instrument: pintado à mão (hand-painted), pintado com spray (spray-painted).
Is there a difference between fechado and encerrado?
Both can mean “closed,” but usage differs:
- Fechado is general and works for physical things like gates and doors.
- Encerrado is common for services/businesses or events (e.g., Encerrado para férias). For a gate, fechado is the default.
How do I say it’s locked rather than just closed?
Use trancado or fechado à chave:
- O portão está trancado.
- O portão está fechado à chave.
Does pintado imply a completed action/result?
Yes. As a participial adjective, pintado describes the result of a completed painting action. If you want the ongoing action, use a passive progressive: O portão está a ser pintado (EP).
How do I say “is being painted” in Portugal Portuguese?
O portão está a ser pintado. (In Brazil you’d hear está sendo pintado; in Portugal, está a ser is standard.)
What’s the plural of portão, and how is it spelled?
Portões. Many nouns ending in -ão form the plural in -ões (e.g., portão → portões, feijão → feijões).