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O ladrão está preso.

O ladrão está preso.
The thief is under arrest.
From Lesson 233:Nas notícias (a vítima, a esquadra)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of O ladrão está preso.

o ladrão
the thief
preso
arrested, imprisoned; stuck

Questions & Answers about O ladrão está preso.

Why does this sentence use está instead of é?
In Portuguese, being under arrest or in prison is viewed as a temporary state or condition, not an inherent part of someone's identity. Because of this, we use estar (the verb for temporary states) rather than ser.
I know the verb for "to arrest" is prender. Why is the word here preso and not prendido?
The verb prender has two past participles (the form of a verb used to mean "arrested"). The regular form prendido is used with the verb ter for compound tenses. However, when used as an adjective to describe a state, which requires the verbs ser or estar, you must use the irregular, short form preso.
Could está preso mean anything else besides being under arrest?
Yes! Because the verb prender broadly means "to attach", "to tie", or "to trap", the phrase está preso is very commonly used in everyday life to mean "is stuck" (like a jammed zipper or door) or "is attached" (like a dog on a leash).
If there were multiple thieves, how would this sentence change?
Words ending in -ão often have tricky plurals, and ladrão becomes ladrões. You also have to make the verb and the adjective agree with the plural subject, so the sentence becomes Os ladrões estão presos.

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