As botas castanhas estão molhadas.

The brown boots are wet.

Breakdown of As botas castanhas estão molhadas.

• estar: to be
• molhado: wet
• a bota: the boot
• castanho: brown

Questions & Answers about As botas castanhas estão molhadas.

What does As mean, and why is it needed?

• As is the feminine plural definite article, equivalent to “the” for plural feminine nouns.
• Portuguese typically requires an article with specific nouns; English sometimes drops “the,” but Portuguese doesn’t here.
• If you mean “some,” use Umas: Umas botas castanhas estão molhadas.

Why are castanhas and molhadas feminine plural?

• Bota (boot) is a feminine noun; plural botas.
• Adjectives agree with the noun in gender and number:
  • Singular feminine: a bota castanha está molhada
  • Plural feminine: as botas castanhas estão molhadas
  • Singular masculine: o sapato castanho está molhado
  • Plural masculine: os sapatos castanhos estão molhados

Why does castanhas come after botas?

• In Portuguese, adjectives usually follow the noun, especially colors: botas castanhas.
• Putting it before the noun (e.g., castanhas botas) sounds marked/poetic and is rarely used in everyday speech.

Why use estar (estão) instead of ser (são)?

• Estar expresses temporary or resultant states (wet now).
• Ser expresses inherent or permanent characteristics.
• So: estão molhadas = are wet (now). For color as a trait: As botas são castanhas.

What exactly is estão, and what are the other forms of estar?

• Estão = they are (3rd person plural, present).
• Present of estar: eu estou, tu estás, ele/ela/você está, nós estamos, eles/elas/vocês estão.

How do I pronounce the sentence?

• Approx. EP IPA: [aʒ ˈbɔtɐʃ kɐʃˈtɐɲɐʃ iʃˈtɐ̃w̃ muˈʎaðɐʃ]
• Tips:
  • Final -s in Portugal is [ʃ] or [ʒ]. In as botas, the s is [ʒ] before the voiced b: [aʒ ˈbɔtɐʃ].
  • nh in castanhas = “ny” (like Spanish ñ): [ɲ].
  • lh in molhadas = palatal “lli” sound: [ʎ].
  • ão in estão is nasal; don’t pronounce the final o.

What does the tilde in estão do?

• The tilde on ã marks nasalization; ão is a nasal diphthong.
• In words like estão, that syllable is stressed.

Can I say As botas estão castanhas?

• That means the boots have turned brown (e.g., got stained), not that brown is their inherent color.
• For an inherent color: As botas são castanhas.
• In the original, castanhas is attributive (specifies which boots), while molhadas is predicative (their current state).

Is molhadas an adjective or a past participle here?

• Molhado is both the past participle of molhar (to wet) and an adjective.
• With estar, it denotes a resultant state: estão molhadas = are wet (now).
• With ser, it forms a true passive: são molhadas = are (being) wetted (uncommon unless you mean a habitual action).

What’s the nuance difference between molhadas and húmidas?

• Molhadas = wet/soaked (clearly not dry).
• Húmidas (EP; BP: úmidas) = damp/slightly wet or humid.
• Stronger options: encharcadas/ensopadas = soaked/drenched.

How do I negate it or make a yes–no question?

• Negation: As botas castanhas não estão molhadas.
• Question with intonation (common): As botas castanhas estão molhadas?
• Formal/neutral EP option with é que: É que as botas castanhas estão molhadas?
• Inversion (more formal): Estão as botas castanhas molhadas?

Any differences between Portugal and Brazil for this sentence?

• Vocabulary: Portugal uses castanho for “brown”; Brazil often prefers marrom. In Brazil: As botas marrons estão molhadas.
• Pronunciation: final -s is [ʃ]/[ʒ] in Portugal; in most of Brazil it’s [s]/[z].
• Grammar and agreement rules are the same.