As calças de ganga estão molhadas depois da chuva.

The jeans are wet after the rain.

Breakdown of As calças de ganga estão molhadas depois da chuva.

• estar: to be
• depois de: after
• a chuva: the rain
• molhado: wet
• as calças de ganga: the jeans

Questions & Answers about As calças de ganga estão molhadas depois da chuva.

Why is it as calças and not os calças?

In Portuguese, every noun has a grammatical gender.

• calça (trousers, pant) is feminine: a calça
• In the plural, it becomes as calças (trousers / pants)

So you must use the feminine plural article as, not the masculine plural os.

Why is calças plural in Portuguese when in English we just say “my jeans” or “my trousers”?

Portuguese treats items like trousers/pants as inherently plural:

• as calças = trousers / pants (always plural in normal use)
• You almost never say a calça for a single leg; it sounds odd in everyday speech.

If you really want to emphasize “one pair,” you might say:

• um par de calças = a pair of trousers

But the normal way is simply plural as calças.

What does ganga mean, and why do we say calças de ganga?

ganga is the European Portuguese word for denim.

• calças = trousers
• de ganga = made of denim

So calças de ganga literally means “trousers made of denim,” which corresponds to “jeans” in English.

In everyday European Portuguese:

• calças de ganga ≈ “jeans”

In Brazilian Portuguese, you’re more likely to hear:

• calça jeans or uma calça jeans.

Why is it de ganga and not de gangas?

When you talk about what something is made of, Portuguese uses the material in the singular:

• uma mesa de madeira = a wooden table
• um anel de ouro = a gold ring
• calças de ganga = denim trousers / jeans

So ganga stays singular because it names the material, not individual “denims.”

Why is the verb estar used (estão molhadas) instead of ser?

Portuguese uses:

• estar for temporary states or conditions
• ser for permanent or defining characteristics

Being wet after the rain is a temporary condition, so you use estar:

• As calças de ganga estão molhadas. = The jeans are (currently) wet.

If you said são molhadas, it would sound like “they are (by nature) wet,” which is strange for trousers.

Why is estão and not está?

The verb must agree in number with the subject:

• Subject: as calças de ganga → plural
• Therefore: estão (3rd person plural of estar)

If the subject were singular, you’d use está:

• O casaco está molhado. = The coat is wet.
• As calças estão molhadas. = The trousers are wet.

Why is molhadas feminine plural?

Adjectives in Portuguese agree with the noun in gender and number:

• Noun: as calças → feminine plural
• Adjective: molhado (wet) must change to feminine plural molhadas

Patterns:

• masculine singular: molhado
• feminine singular: molhada
• masculine plural: molhados
• feminine plural: molhadas

So: as calças (fem. pl.) estão molhadas (fem. pl.)

Does molhadas mean exactly “wet”, or is there a nuance?

molhadas is the standard word for wet or damp, without extra nuance.

If you want to say “soaked” or “drenched,” you might use:

• encharcadas = soaked/drenched
• ensopadas = soaked (often used with clothes, food in sauce, etc.)

So:

• As calças estão molhadas. = The trousers are wet (maybe just somewhat).
• As calças estão encharcadas. = The trousers are completely soaked.

Why is it depois da chuva and not depois de a chuva?

Portuguese usually contracts prepositions with articles.

• depois de
  • a chuva → depois da chuva

Here:

• de (of/after) + a (the, feminine singular) = da

So depois da chuva literally = “after the rain.” Writing depois de a chuva is grammatically wrong in standard Portuguese.

Why use a chuva (with the article) instead of just chuva?

Using the definite article a often makes the event more specific:

• depois da chuva = after the rain (e.g., the rain that just happened / that we know about)
• depois de chuva (without the article) is possible but much less common here, and would feel more generic, like “after rain (in general).”

In everyday speech, depois da chuva is the natural, idiomatic choice for “after the rain.”

Could I say após a chuva instead of depois da chuva?

Yes, grammatically:

• depois da chuva
• após a chuva

Both mean after the rain.

Differences:

• depois de/da is more common and neutral in everyday speech.
• após sounds a bit more formal or written, but it’s not wrong in speech.

Can I change the word order, like Depois da chuva, as calças de ganga estão molhadas?

Yes. Both word orders are correct:

• As calças de ganga estão molhadas depois da chuva.
• Depois da chuva, as calças de ganga estão molhadas.

Starting with Depois da chuva simply emphasizes the time frame (“After the rain…”). It’s similar to English:

• “The jeans are wet after the rain.”
• “After the rain, the jeans are wet.”

What’s the difference between calças de ganga and simply jeans in Portuguese?

In European Portuguese, people normally say:

• calças de ganga = jeans

The English word jeans is also understood, but it’s less common and can sound more informal or trendy, depending on context. Many speakers will just stick to calças de ganga in everyday speech.

Is there any important pronunciation detail in calças de ganga I should know?

A few key points (European Portuguese):

• calças → roughly KAL-sas
  
  • first ç is an /s/ sound, not /k/
  • final -s in EP sounds like /ʃ/ (“sh”) when followed by a consonant: calça[sh] de
• de is often very reduced and sounds like a quick d(ə).
• ganga → GUN-guh (both g are hard, like in English go).

Together in natural speech, it often flows like:
cálça-sh d’ gán-ga.