A pontuação está no quadro.

A is the feminine singular definite article, so here it means the.

So a pontuação = the score or the punctuation, depending on context.

Portuguese uses definite articles more often than English does, and pontuação is a feminine noun. A useful pattern is that many nouns ending in -ção are feminine:

• a nação
• a informação
• a pontuação

Because Portuguese normally uses estar for location.

• A pontuação está no quadro = the score/punctuation is on the board
• Ser is usually for identity, definition, or classification

So é no quadro would not sound natural here. If you are saying where something is, estar is usually the right choice.

No is a contraction of em + o.

• em = in / on
• o = the
• em o becomes no

So no quadro literally comes from em o quadro.

This happens very often in Portuguese:

• em + a = na
• em + os = nos
• em + as = nas

Because quadro is a masculine noun: o quadro.

Since it is masculine singular, em + o becomes no.

If the noun were feminine, you would use na instead:

• na sala
• na mesa

So the form depends on the gender of the noun.

Because Portuguese and English do not always use prepositions in the same way.

In Portuguese, em often covers meanings that English separates into in and on. With things like boards, pages, screens, and similar surfaces, Portuguese often uses em where English prefers on.

So:

• no quadro = on the board
• na página = on the page
• na televisão = on TV

It is best to learn these as normal Portuguese patterns rather than translate each preposition literally.

Here, quadro means board.

In European Portuguese, quadro is a very common word for a classroom board, such as a blackboard or whiteboard. Depending on context, it can also refer to a display board or scoreboard.

But quadro can also mean other things in different contexts, such as:

• picture
• painting
• frame
• chart
• panel

So the exact meaning comes from the situation.

Yes. Pontuação can mean:

• score / points total
• punctuation

So this sentence could mean either:

• The score is on the board
• The punctuation is on the board

Context tells you which meaning is intended. In a game or competition, it probably means score. In a language class, it could mean punctuation.

A rough English-style approximation is:

A pontuação está no quadro
≈ uh pon-too-ah-SOWN shtah noo KWA-droo

A few useful points:

• ç sounds like s
• the stress in pontuação is on the last syllable: -ção
• ão is a nasal sound, which English does not really have
• in European Portuguese, unstressed vowels are often reduced, so native speech sounds tighter and less fully pronounced than the spelling suggests
• está in Portugal often sounds close to shtá

This approximation is not exact, but it is a good starting point.

The accent shows which syllable is stressed: es-TÁ.

It also helps distinguish está from esta:

• está = is
• esta = this (feminine)

So the accent is important both for pronunciation and meaning.

Yes, but A pontuação está no quadro is the most neutral and natural order.

You could also say:

• No quadro está a pontuação

That is grammatical, but it sounds more marked, more literary, or more emphatic. It puts extra focus on no quadro.

For everyday speech, the original sentence is the safest and most natural choice.

Because the subject a pontuação is singular.

In Portuguese, the verb agrees with the subject:

• A pontuação está no quadro.
• As pontuações estão no quadro.

So if the subject changes to plural, the verb must change too.