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No verão, há um festival de música na cidade, com a melhor banda do país.

No verão, há um festival de música na cidade, com a melhor banda do país.
In summer, there is a music festival in the city, with the best band in the country.
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Questions & Answers about No verão, há um festival de música na cidade, com a melhor banda do país.

Why is it No verão and not Em o verão or just Em verão?

No is the contraction of em + o (in + the).
So:

  • em + o verão → no verão = in the summer

You normally use the definite article with seasons in Portuguese, so you say:

  • no verão, no inverno, na primavera, no outono

Just em verão would sound strange or incomplete.
Em o verão is simply ungrammatical; it must contract to no.

What tense and verb is há here, and why does it mean “there is”?

Há is the 3rd person singular present of haver.

In this sentence, há is used in its impersonal existential meaning:

  • há um festival = there is a festival

So here:

  • verb: haver
  • form: há (present, 3rd person singular)
  • function: impersonal “there is / there are”
What is the difference between há and tem for “there is/there are”, especially in Portugal?

In European Portuguese (Portugal):

  • há is the normal, standard way to say “there is / there are”.

    • Há um festival na cidade. = There is a festival in the city.

  • tem is not usually used with existential meaning in European Portuguese. It’s mainly “has” (3rd person singular of ter):

    • A cidade tem um festival. = The city has a festival.

In Brazilian Portuguese, tem is very commonly used with the meaning “there is/are”, but that is not the usual pattern in Portugal.

Why is it um festival de música and not um festival de músicas?

In Portuguese, when you describe the type of festival, the second noun usually stays singular:

  • festival de música = a music festival (festival of music, in general)

You’d only say festival de músicas if you emphasized individual songs, e.g., a competition of different songs. For the usual meaning of “music festival”, de música (singular) is correct and natural.

Why is it na cidade and not em a cidade?

Again, this is the contraction of preposition + article:

  • em + a cidade → na cidade

So:

  • na cidade = in the city

You almost always make these contractions in standard Portuguese:

  • no = em + o
  • na = em + a
  • nos = em + os
  • nas = em + as
Could I also say Na cidade, há um festival de música? Is the word order important?

Yes, you can say:

  • Na cidade, há um festival de música…
  • Há um festival de música na cidade…

Both are correct.

Differences in feel:

  • Starting with Há um festival… is neutral: you introduce the existence of the festival.
  • Starting with Na cidade, há… slightly emphasizes the location first.

Grammatically, both are fine; it’s just a matter of focus and style.

Why is there a comma before com in na cidade, com a melhor banda do país?

The comma separates two pieces of information:

  • na cidade – where the festival takes place
  • com a melhor banda do país – an extra detail about the festival

It’s like saying in English:
“…in the city, with the best band in the country.”

You could write it without the comma (na cidade com a melhor banda…), but the comma makes the sentence a bit clearer and shows that “with the best band in the country” is additional information.

Why is it a melhor banda and not just melhor banda?

In Portuguese, the superlative (“the best”, “the biggest”, etc.) normally uses the definite article:

  • a melhor banda = the best band
  • o melhor cantor = the best singer
  • os melhores jogadores = the best players

Without the article, melhor banda is more like “better band” (comparative) and usually needs a comparison:

  • Esta é uma banda melhor do que aquela.
    = This is a better band than that one.

So for “the best band”, you need a melhor banda.

Why is melhor the same form for masculine and feminine? Why not melhora banda?

Melhor is an invariable adjective in terms of gender:

  • o melhor cantor (masculine)
  • a melhor cantora (feminine)
  • o melhor livro
  • a melhor banda

So you never say melhora in this sense.
Only the article changes (o / a / os / as), not melhor itself.

What does do país literally mean, and why not no país?

Do is the contraction of de + o (of + the):

  • do país = of the country → in the country (as a superlative scope)

So:

  • a melhor banda do país
    literally: the best band of the country
    meaning: the best band in the country

No país would mean “in the country” as a location:

  • Há muitos festivais no país. = There are many festivals in the country.

With a superlative like a melhor banda, you naturally say do país to indicate “in the whole country”.

Why is país written with an accent? Does it change the meaning or pronunciation?

Yes, the accent in país is important:

  • país has the stress on the last syllable: pa-ÍS
  • The í is written with an acute accent to mark the stressed vowel.

Without the accent (pais), it’s a different word:

  • pais = parents
    (plural of pai = father, but in practice “parents”)

So:

  • do país = of the country
  • dos pais = of the parents

The accent changes both meaning and pronunciation.

Is verão always written with that tilde, and what does it do to pronunciation?

Yes, verão (summer) must have the tilde:

  • verão = ve-RÃO (nasal sound on ão)

The ~ (tilde) over ã indicates that the vowel is nasal.
The ending -ão is a very common nasal sound in Portuguese (as in pão, mão, não).

Without the tilde (verao), it would be incorrect spelling and would also suggest a different, non‑nasal pronunciation.