Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): O plano está desenhado no quadro.

ser + participle → true passive voice, focuses on the action
- O plano foi desenhado no quadro.
  = The plan was drawn on the board (we’re talking about the event of drawing it).
estar + participle → describes a resulting state, how something is at this moment
- O plano está desenhado no quadro.
  = The plan is (in the state of being) drawn on the board (we care about its current presence there).

So está is used because the sentence describes the current state of the plan (it is there, drawn on the board), not the drawing action itself.

Is está desenhado a passive construction or is desenhado just an adjective here?

Grammatically, it’s a bit of both:

Historically, está desenhado comes from a passive structure (like “is drawn”).
In modern use, with estar, the participle behaves very much like an adjective describing a state.

You can test this by replacing desenhado with a clear adjective:

O plano está visível no quadro. – The plan is visible on the board.

Here visível is clearly an adjective. In O plano está desenhado no quadro, desenhado works the same way: it tells you the current condition of the plan.

So you can safely think of está desenhado as “is in a drawn state”, i.e. adjective-like.

Why is it desenhado and not desenhada / desenhados / desenhadas?

Because past participles used with estar agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.

Noun: o plano
- masculine
- singular

So the participle must also be masculine singular:

desenhado

Compare:

O plano está desenhado. – The plan is drawn. (masc. sing.)
Os planos estão desenhados. – The plans are drawn. (masc. plural)
A planta está desenhada. – The (building) plan / blueprint is drawn. (fem. sing.)
As plantas estão desenhadas. – The blueprints are drawn. (fem. plural)

What is the difference between O plano está desenhado no quadro and O plano foi desenhado no quadro?

They are both correct but focus on different things:

O plano está desenhado no quadro.
- Focus: current state
- Meaning: The plan is now on the board, drawn there.
- The action of drawing is not important; the result is.
O plano foi desenhado no quadro.
- Focus: action / event (true passive)
- Meaning: The plan was drawn on the board (by someone, at some point).
- Often easier to add an agent: …foi desenhado no quadro pelo professor.

In English, both can translate as “The plan is drawn on the board” or “The plan was drawn on the board”, but in Portuguese the difference between estar (state) and ser/foi (action) is clearer.

How would I say “The plan is being drawn on the board” (right now)?

To emphasize an ongoing action, European Portuguese usually uses estar a + infinitive:

O plano está a ser desenhado no quadro.
= The plan is being drawn on the board (right now).

Breakdown:

está – present of estar
a ser – “being”
desenhado – drawn
no quadro – on the board

So we have:

está desenhado → state/result (is drawn, already done)
está a ser desenhado → ongoing passive action (is being drawn).

What exactly does quadro mean here?

In this context, quadro means board, like a classroom board:

chalkboard / blackboard
whiteboard

So no quadro here = on the (classroom) board.

But quadro is a very flexible word. Depending on context, it can also mean:

a painting or framed picture (on a wall)
a frame
in other contexts, a chart, table, or even staff / personnel (in more abstract uses)

In this sentence, without more context, a Portuguese speaker will most naturally picture a classroom or meeting-room board.

Why do we say no quadro and not something like em o quadro or sobre o quadro?

Two points:

Contraction:
Portuguese usually contracts em + o → no.
- em = in / on / at
- o = the (masc. sing.)
  → no
So no quadro literally comes from em o quadro.
Choice of preposition:
For things written or drawn on surfaces, Portuguese very often uses em (here as no):
- no quadro – on the board
- no papel – on the paper
- no ecrã – on the screen
sobre also means “on (top of)” / “over”, but with drawing/writing, em/no/na is the default and most natural choice:
- O plano está desenhado no quadro. ✅
- O plano está desenhado sobre o quadro. – sounds odd here; suggests physically on top of the board, not drawn on its surface.

Could no quadro also mean “in the painting” or “in the picture”?

Yes, it could, depending on context. no quadro literally is “in/on the quadro”, and quadro can mean painting or framed picture.

So:

O plano está desenhado no quadro.
could mean:
- The plan is drawn on the board. (most likely in a school/meeting context)
- The plan is drawn in the painting/picture. (if we’re talking about art)

Usually, the situation makes it clear:

In a classroom → “board”
In a museum / art context → “painting / picture”

Can I change the word order? For example: No quadro, o plano está desenhado?

Yes, Portuguese word order is fairly flexible, especially for emphasis. Some natural variations:

O plano está desenhado no quadro.
Neutral, most common.
No quadro, o plano está desenhado.
Emphasis on the location: On the board, the plan is drawn.
No quadro está desenhado o plano.
Also possible, slightly more formal or “written style”; emphasizes what is drawn on the board.

What you usually don’t do in neutral statements is separate está from desenhado with the subject in between, e.g.:

✗ Está o plano desenhado no quadro. – sounds like a question or very marked style.

So, rearranging is possible, but O plano está desenhado no quadro stays the most straightforward.

How are plano, desenhado, and quadro pronounced in European Portuguese?

Approximate European Portuguese pronunciation (using English-like hints):

plano → [PLU-nu]
- pla- like “pluh” (short vowel, not “play”)
- final -no is unstressed and reduced: sounds like “nu”
desenhado → roughly [dɨ-zɨ-NYA-du]
- de- like very short “dɨ” (like the e in problem for many accents)
- -se- is again reduced: “zɨ”
- -nh- as in Spanish ño or Italian gn in gnocchi
  - -nhado ≈ “NYA-du” (with a soft d at the end)
quadro → roughly [KWA-dru]
- qua- like “kwa” (as in quack without the final ck)
- final -dro is reduced, more like “dru” with a light rolled/flapped r.

All vowels (except stressed ones) are quite short and often reduced in European Portuguese, which gives it a more “closed” sound compared to English.