A Ana faz uma salada com abacate e ananás.

In European Portuguese, it is very common to put the definite article before a person’s first name, especially in everyday speech.

So A Ana means literally the Ana, but in natural English we just say Ana.

This is normal in Portugal:

• A Ana
• O João
• A Maria

A few useful points:

• A is used because Ana is feminine.
• O would be used with a masculine name.
• In European Portuguese, this sounds very natural.
• Leaving the article out is possible in some contexts, but A Ana is very standard and common.

Faz is the 3rd person singular present form of the verb fazer, which means to do or to make.

Here:

• fazer = to make / to do
• faz = she makes / Ana makes

Because the subject is A Ana, the verb has to be in the ele/ela/você form:

• eu faço = I make
• tu fazes = you make
• ele/ela faz = he/she makes

So A Ana faz means Ana makes.

Uma is the indefinite article, meaning a or an.

So:

• uma salada = a salad
• a salada = the salad

The sentence uses uma salada because it is introducing it as a salad, not a specific salad already known to the listener.

Also:

• salada is a feminine noun
• so the feminine singular article is uma

Compare:

• um prato = a dish
• uma salada = a salad

You usually learn the gender together with the noun.

Here, salada is feminine, so it takes:

• a salada = the salad
• uma salada = a salad

Many Portuguese nouns ending in -a are feminine, and salada follows that common pattern. But it is still best to learn nouns with their article:

• a salada
• o abacate
• o ananás

That helps you remember gender naturally.

Com means with.

In this sentence, it introduces the ingredients or things included in the salad:

• uma salada com abacate e ananás = a salad with avocado and pineapple

It is a very common preposition.

Examples:

• café com leite = coffee with milk
• pão com manteiga = bread with butter
• massa com queijo = pasta with cheese

When Portuguese lists ingredients in a general way, it often leaves out the articles.

So:

• com abacate e ananás sounds natural for with avocado and pineapple

This is similar to English, where we often say:

• salad with avocado and pineapple not necessarily
• salad with an avocado and a pineapple

If you added articles, the meaning could become more specific or sound a bit heavier:

• com o abacate e o ananás = with the avocado and the pineapple

That would usually refer to specific avocado and pineapple already known in the context.

In European Portuguese, ananás is the usual word for pineapple.

In Brazilian Portuguese, abacaxi is much more common.

So for Portugal:

• ananás = the normal everyday word

For Brazil:

• abacaxi = the more common word

A learner of Portuguese from Portugal should definitely know ananás.

Yes. Abacate is masculine.

So you would say:

• o abacate = the avocado
• um abacate = an avocado

Even though it ends in -e, that does not automatically tell you the gender. Nouns ending in -e can be masculine or feminine, so you have to learn them individually.

The stress is on the last syllable: a-na-NÁS.

That is shown by the acute accent: á.

So the accent mark tells you where to stress the word.

A rough guide for an English speaker:

• ananás ≈ ah-nah-NASH or ah-nah-NASS, depending on accent

The exact European Portuguese sound may be a bit different from English, but the key point is:

• stress the last syllable
• do not say A-na-nas

In European Portuguese, faz is usually pronounced roughly like fazh for an English speaker, because the final z is often voiced like the s in measure.

So:

• faz ≈ fazh

That final sound is not like the z in careful English zoo.

This is a useful pronunciation habit in European Portuguese:

• final -z often sounds like zh

Yes, you can, but in European Portuguese A Ana is usually more natural in ordinary speech.

So:

• A Ana faz uma salada... = very natural in Portugal
• Ana faz uma salada... = possible, but can sound more formal, more written, or less colloquial depending on context

For a learner of Portuguese from Portugal, using the article before first names is a very good habit to notice and understand.

It follows a very common Portuguese sentence pattern:

subject + verb + object + complement

Here:

• A Ana = subject
• faz = verb
• uma salada = direct object
• com abacate e ananás = extra information describing the salad

This is a very normal word order in Portuguese and is quite close to English:

• Ana makes a salad with avocado and pineapple

Here it most naturally describes the salad, not the action of making.

So the meaning is:

• a salad containing avocado and pineapple

In practice, listeners understand that com abacate e ananás tells us what the salad has in it.

Portuguese often uses com this way to describe food:

• pizza com queijo
• arroz com peixe
• salada com tomate

E means and.

It connects the two ingredients:

• abacate e ananás = avocado and pineapple

It is the normal coordinating conjunction for joining words, phrases, or clauses.

Examples:

• pão e queijo = bread and cheese
• a Ana e o João = Ana and João

Ana is a proper noun, so it is capitalized.

The others are common nouns, so they are normally written in lower case:

• Ana
• salada
• abacate
• ananás

This works much like English.

Yes. Fazer is very commonly used for preparing food in Portuguese.

Examples:

• fazer uma salada = make a salad
• fazer o jantar = make dinner
• fazer um bolo = make a cake

So this sentence uses a completely natural verb.

Yes, but it can sound slightly different.

• salada com abacate e ananás = a salad with avocado and pineapple
• salada de abacate e ananás = an avocado-and-pineapple salad / salad made of avocado and pineapple

In many contexts, both are possible, but com is often the most straightforward way to mention ingredients or additions. De can sound a bit more like the ingredients define the type of salad.

A simple breakdown is:

• A = feminine singular definite article
• Ana = proper noun
• faz = present tense of fazer
• uma = feminine singular indefinite article
• salada = noun
• com = preposition
• abacate = noun
• e = conjunction
• ananás = noun

So it is a very useful beginner sentence because it shows:

• article + name
• present-tense verb
• noun gender
• a preposition
• a simple list with e