The second "to be": estar
In Portuguese, there are two different verbs that mean "to be". You will use estar to describe temporary states (like how you feel right now) and current locations (where something is).
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | estou |
| tu | estás |
| ele / ela / você | está |
| nós | estamos |
| eles / elas / vocês | estão |
| Hello, I am fine. | Olá, estou bem. |
| The father is very tired. | O pai está muito cansado. |
Asking and giving locations
Because estar handles locations, it is the perfect verb for asking onde (where) someone or something is. To say that someone is "in", "on", or "at" a place, use the preposition em. You will use the standalone word em before cities and places that do not take a definite article.
| Where is the dog? | Onde está o cão? |
| The doctor is in Lisbon. | O médico está em Lisboa. |
Combining "em" with "the"
Very often, a location is preceded by "the" (the definite articles o, a, os, as). When this happens, em merges directly with the article to form a new, small word.
| Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | em + o = no | em + a = na |
| Plural | em + os = nos | em + as = nas |
These contractions are required and appear everywhere, including common places like "at work" (no trabalho), "at school" (na escola), or "in the bedroom" (no quarto).
| Is the mother at work? | A mãe está no trabalho? |
| The students are at school. | Os alunos estão na escola. |
| The key is not in the bedroom. | A chave não está no quarto. |