Breakdown of Na novela que estamos a ver, a personagem principal é muito engraçada e mistura drama com comédia.
Questions & Answers about Na novela que estamos a ver, a personagem principal é muito engraçada e mistura drama com comédia.
Na is the contraction of em + a and means in the / on the before a feminine noun.
- em + a novela → na novela = in the soap opera / in the TV show
- With a masculine noun, you’d get em + o → no (e.g. no filme = in the film).
Portuguese almost always contracts em + definite article, so em a novela is grammatically wrong in standard usage; you must say na novela.
Here, que is a relative pronoun referring back to novela. The structure is:
- a novela [que estamos a ver] = the show *that we are watching*
Inside the relative clause, que is the direct object of ver:
- (Nós) estamos a ver a novela → a novela que estamos a ver
In Portuguese you cannot drop this que.
You can’t say ✗ na novela estamos a ver to mean the show (that) we are watching; you must say na novela que estamos a ver.
In European Portuguese, the most common way to express the present continuous (we are watching) is:
- estar a + infinitive → estamos a ver
So:
- estamos a ver ≈ we are watching
- estou a ler ≈ I am reading
- eles estão a estudar ≈ they are studying
The -ing gerund form (estamos vendo, estamos assistindo) is typical of Brazilian Portuguese. In Portugal, it sounds either regional, influenced by Brazil, or very marked; the neutral standard is estar a + infinitive.
In Portuguese, when talking about watching TV, films, series, etc., the normal verb is ver (to see / watch), not olhar (to look (at)).
- ver uma novela / ver um filme = to watch a soap / a film
- olhar para is used more for the physical act of looking at something right now:
- olhar para a janela = look at the window.
So estamos a ver (a novela) is the natural way to say we’re watching (the show).
Portuguese is a pro‑drop language: subject pronouns (eu, tu, ele, nós, etc.) are often omitted because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.
- estamos is the 1st person plural form of estar → it can only mean we.
- So (nós) estamos a ver and estamos a ver both mean we are watching.
Adding nós is possible but usually only for emphasis or contrast:
Na novela que nós estamos a ver… (stressing that we are the ones watching it).
In European Portuguese, the noun personagem (character in a book/film/show) is grammatically feminine by default, regardless of whether the character is male or female.
- a personagem = the character (male or female)
- as personagens = the characters
Because personagem is feminine, everything that agrees with it is feminine:
- a personagem principal
- a personagem é muito engraçada
In Brazil, you may sometimes hear o personagem for a male character, but in Portugal, a personagem is strongly preferred in almost all contexts.
Agreement happens like this:
- Noun: a personagem → feminine singular
- Adjectives must match this:
- principal doesn’t change form (same for masculine/feminine)
- engraçada shows feminine -a to agree with personagem
So we get:
- a personagem principal é muito engraçada
- masculine version (with a masculine noun): o personagem principal é muito engraçado
Note also that muito before an adjective means very and does not change for gender or number:
- muito engraçado / muito engraçada / muito engraçados / muito engraçadas = very funny in all cases.
Engraçada usually means funny / amusing, often in a positive, light‑hearted way:
- Ela é muito engraçada. = She is very funny / amusing.
Depending on context, it can also mean:
- odd / peculiar / interesting (mild, not very negative):
- Isso é engraçado… = That’s funny / that’s curious… (something surprising)
But unlike English funny, engraçado doesn’t usually mean strange in a bad way; for that, you’d more often use estranho or esquisito.
Novela in Portuguese (especially in Portugal and Brazil) refers specifically to a telenovela / soap‑style TV drama, usually with many episodes, strong emotional storylines, often broadcast daily.
- uma novela ≈ a soap / telenovela
- uma série = a TV series (can be drama, comedy, etc., usually seasonal)
If the show is indeed a telenovela, na novela is the natural phrase.
If it’s a different type of TV series, you could say na série que estamos a ver instead.
The verb misturar (to mix) often uses the pattern:
- misturar X com Y = to mix X with Y
So mistura drama com comédia literally = mixes drama with comedy.
You can also say:
- mistura drama e comédia
→ also correct, just slightly different rhythm. com emphasizes the idea of combining one thing with another; e simply lists them.
All of these are acceptable:
- mistura drama com comédia
- mistura drama e comédia
- mistura o drama com a comédia (more specific, stylistically heavier)
Here, drama and comédia are used more as genres / abstract types, not as specific, individual things. In that sense, Portuguese often drops the article:
- mistura drama com comédia = mixes drama with comedy (as genres)
- gosta de drama e comédia = likes drama and comedy
If you add the articles, you’re pointing more to specific instances of drama and comedy:
- mistura o drama com a comédia
→ mixes the drama with the comedy (heavier, more concrete, e.g. in a particular storyline)
Both are grammatically correct; the version without articles sounds more general and natural for talking about style or genre.
Yes, that’s still correct. Portuguese word order is fairly flexible for these kinds of adverbial/relative phrases.
All of the following are grammatical, with slightly different emphasis:
- Na novela que estamos a ver, a personagem principal é muito engraçada…
(first highlight the show, then the character) - A personagem principal, na novela que estamos a ver, é muito engraçada…
(start with the character, add a parenthetical reference to the show)
The original version is perfectly natural and perhaps the most neutral for this sentence.