O teu casaco está na cadeira.

Your coat is on the chair.

Breakdown of O teu casaco está na cadeira.

• estar: to be
• em: on
• o casaco: the coat
• a cadeira: the chair
• o teu: yours

Questions & Answers about O teu casaco está na cadeira.

Why do we say o teu casaco and not just teu casaco?

In European Portuguese, possessive adjectives (meu, teu, seu, nosso, vosso) are usually used together with a definite article (o, a, os, as).

So:

• o teu casaco = your coat
• a tua mala = your bag

Saying just teu casaco is possible but sounds more marked, poetic, or old‑fashioned in everyday European Portuguese. In normal speech, you almost always include the article: o teu / a tua / os teus / as tuas.

Why is it teu and not tua?

The form of the possessive (teu / tua / teus / tuas) agrees with the gender and number of the thing owned, not with the person who owns it.

• casaco is masculine singular → o teu casaco
• If it were a skirt (saia, feminine singular) → a tua saia
• Plural examples:
  • os teus casacos (your coats)
  • as tuas saias (your skirts)

So we say teu because casaco is masculine.

What is the difference between teu and seu?

Both mean your, but they’re used with different forms of address:

• teu / tua / teus / tuas = your when speaking to someone you call tu (informal, familiar: friends, family, young people).
• seu / sua / seus / suas can mean:
  • your when speaking formally to o senhor / a senhora / você (in Portugal more with o senhor / a senhora)
  • his / her / their depending on context

In European Portuguese, with someone you know well, you’d say:

• O teu casaco está na cadeira. (to a friend)

To a stranger, politely:

• O seu casaco está na cadeira, senhor.

Because seu is ambiguous (your / his / her / their), people sometimes repeat the noun or name to clarify: O casaco dele / dela / deles / delas for his / her / their coat.

Why is it está and not é?

Portuguese has two verbs for to be: ser and estar.

In this sentence we are talking about location (where something is), and for locations you almost always use estar:

• O teu casaco está na cadeira. = Your coat is on the chair (location, possibly changeable).
• Lisboa é em Portugal. is not correct; you say Lisboa fica em Portugal or Lisboa é a capital de Portugal, but for “is in” location of a moveable thing, use estar.

General rule of thumb:

• estar for location, temporary states, current conditions
• ser for identity, inherent characteristics, permanent facts

What does na mean, and why isn’t it em a cadeira?

Na is a contraction of the preposition em (in / on / at) + the definite article a (the, feminine singular).

• em + a = na
• em + o = no
• em + as = nas
• em + os = nos

So:

• em a cadeira → na cadeira
• literally “in/on the chair”

You cannot say em a cadeira in normal speech; you must contract it to na cadeira.

Does na cadeira mean “on the chair” or “in the chair”?

It can mean in, on, or at the chair, depending on context. The preposition em is very flexible in Portuguese.

In this specific sentence, the natural interpretation is on the chair, because a coat is typically lying on top of a chair.

If you want to be very explicit:

• sobre a cadeira = literally on top of the chair
• em cima da cadeira = also on top of the chair

But na cadeira is completely normal and idiomatic for on the chair here.

Could the sentence be O teu casaco é na cadeira?

No, that’s incorrect.

For location of an object, you must use estar, not ser:

• ✔ O teu casaco está na cadeira.
• ✘ O teu casaco é na cadeira.

Ser with em/na/no tends to be used in set expressions like:

• O exame é na segunda‑feira. (The exam is on Monday.)
• A reunião é no escritório. (The meeting is at the office.)

But for where something currently is, especially a movable object like a coat, use estar.

Can I change the word order and say Na cadeira está o teu casaco?

Yes, that’s correct Portuguese.

• O teu casaco está na cadeira. (neutral order)
• Na cadeira está o teu casaco. (puts emphasis on the location: “On the chair is your coat”)

The second version sounds a bit more descriptive or dramatic, as if you’re pointing out where it is, but it’s perfectly grammatical.

Why is it cadeira and not a cadeira in English? We say “on the chair” in English; is the article really needed in Portuguese?

Yes, the article is needed in Portuguese in almost all cases with a specific, identifiable object.

• na cadeira = em + a cadeira = “on the chair”

Leaving out the article:

• em cadeira (without a) is either wrong or would sound very strange here.

Portuguese uses definite articles more consistently than English does. When you mean a specific known chair, you include a:

How would this sentence change if I were talking about more than one coat or chair?

You need to make the article, possessive, noun, and verb agree in number.

1. More than one coat, one chair:

   • Os teus casacos estão na cadeira.
   • os (plural article) + teus (plural possessive) + casacos (plural)
   • estão is the plural of está

2. One coat, more than one chair (less natural, but grammatical):

   • O teu casaco está nas cadeiras.
   • nas = em + as cadeiras (on the chairs)

3. More than one coat and more than one chair:

   • Os teus casacos estão nas cadeiras.

How would I say this formally to someone I don’t know?

Use seu instead of teu, and usually address the person as senhor or senhora (in Portugal):

• O seu casaco está na cadeira, senhor.
• O seu casaco está na cadeira, senhora.

The structure is the same; only the possessive (and how you address the person) changes.

Is this sentence the same in Brazilian Portuguese?

Grammatically, yes:

• O teu casaco está na cadeira.

However, there are some differences in typical usage:

• In much of Brazil, people more often use você with seu / sua instead of tu / teu / tua, so you’d more commonly hear:
  • O seu casaco está na cadeira.
• The word for “coat/jacket” also varies:
  • In many parts of Brazil, jaqueta or casaco may be used depending on the type of clothing and region.

But the sentence as written is perfectly understandable in Brazil.