A informação está no quadro.

Because a is the feminine singular definite article, meaning the.

• a informação = the information
• informação is a feminine noun in Portuguese
• so it takes a, not o

In Portuguese, articles are used more often than in English, so A informação sounds natural and standard.

Informação here is singular, just like information in English is usually treated as an uncountable idea.

So:

• A informação = the information
• As informações = the pieces of information / the details / the information in a plural sense

Portuguese can use both singular and plural depending on meaning, but in this sentence the singular is perfectly normal.

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

Here, está is used because the sentence talks about location:

• A informação está no quadro. = the information is on the board.

A useful rule:

• ser = identity, characteristics, definitions
• estar = location, condition, state

So for where something is, Portuguese normally uses estar.

Está is the he/she/it form of the verb estar in the present tense.

Full present tense of estar:

• eu estou
• tu estás
• ele/ela/você está
• nós estamos
• vós estais
• eles/elas/vocês estão

Since a informação is treated like it, the sentence uses está.

No means in the or on the, depending on context.

It is a contraction of:

• em
  • o = no

So:

• em o quadro becomes no quadro

This contraction is required in standard Portuguese.

Other common contractions:

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

Because quadro is a masculine noun.

So:

• o quadro = the board / the frame / the chart
• em + o quadro = no quadro

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

Example:

• na sala = in the room

Quadro can mean several things depending on context. Common meanings include:

• board
• picture frame
• painting
• chart
• panel

In this sentence, quadro most likely means a board such as a classroom board, whiteboard, or blackboard.

So A informação está no quadro would usually be understood as The information is on the board.

Because Portuguese often uses em where English uses either in or on.

So:

• no quadro can correspond to English on the board

This is very common. Portuguese prepositions do not always match English ones word for word, so it is better to learn the whole expression:

• estar no quadro = to be on the board

Normally, no. In standard Portuguese, A informação está no quadro sounds much more natural.

Leaving out the article here would sound incomplete or unnatural in ordinary usage.

Portuguese often uses definite articles in places where English does not. So even if English might sometimes say just Information is on the board, Portuguese usually prefers A informação.

A rough European Portuguese pronunciation is:

• informação ≈ een-for-ma-SOWN
  with a nasal ending

A few important points:

• the final -ção is very common in Portuguese and is nasal
• the ão sound does not exist exactly in English
• unstressed vowels in European Portuguese are often reduced, so the word may sound more compressed than you expect

If you want to sound more natural, pay special attention to the nasal ending in -ção.

In European Portuguese, está is roughly:

• sh-TAH or esh-TAH, depending on how carefully it is pronounced

A few notes:

• the stress is on the second syllable: estÁ
• in European Portuguese, the initial es- often sounds reduced
• the final á is open and stressed

So it should not sound like English ess-ta with equal stress on both syllables.

The normal, neutral word order is:

• A informação está no quadro.

That is:

• subject: A informação
• verb: está
• place: no quadro

Portuguese can sometimes change word order for emphasis, but this version is the most natural and standard for a learner.

You put não before the verb:

• A informação não está no quadro.
  = The information is not on the board.

This is the usual way to make a negative sentence in Portuguese.

In spoken Portuguese, you can often keep the same word order and just use question intonation:

• A informação está no quadro?

In writing, the question mark shows it is a question.

So the statement and the question can look almost identical:

• statement: A informação está no quadro.
• question: A informação está no quadro?

The sentence itself is the same:

• A informação está no quadro.

A Brazilian speaker would understand it perfectly, and might say it too. The main differences would usually be in pronunciation, not grammar.

Depending on the situation, a Brazilian speaker might also choose a different word for the object, such as lousa in some contexts, but quadro is still common and understandable.

Very often, yes: nouns ending in -ção are usually feminine.

Examples:

• a informação
• a estação
• a situação
• a tradução

So -ção is a very useful pattern to remember: it usually signals a feminine noun.