Breakdown of Eis a mesma estátua de mármore e bronze em cima do pedestal.
e
and
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
do
of the / from the (contracted)
em cima de
on top of
o
him/it (m)
mesmo
same
eis
here is / behold
a estátua
the statue
o mármore
the marble
o bronze
the bronze
o pedestal
the pedestal
Questions & Answers about Eis a mesma estátua de mármore e bronze em cima do pedestal.
Why use eis here instead of simply saying aqui está?
While aqui está simply states a physical location, eis is a presentational particle used to reveal, introduce, or draw special attention to something. It carries a nuance closer to "behold" or "presenting...", giving the sentence a slightly more dramatic or literary tone than a basic statement of fact.
Does eis act as a verb in this sentence?
Functionally, yes. Eis is an invariable particle that replaces the need for a verb like estar or haver. It directly introduces a noun phrase—in this case, a mesma estátua. Because it acts like a verb, if you wanted to replace the statue with a pronoun to say "here it is", eis would take a direct object clitic and become ei-la.
Why does mesma come before estátua instead of after?
In Portuguese, most descriptive adjectives come after the noun. However, adjectives that define identity, sequence, or inherent quantities—like mesmo (same), outro (other), and próximo (next)—almost always precede the noun.
Why do we say estátua de mármore e bronze instead of just estátua mármore e bronze?
In English, you can place a material noun right before another noun to act as an adjective (like "marble statue"). Portuguese does not do this; you must use the preposition de to indicate what an object is made of, literally translating to "statue of marble and bronze".
Could I use sobre o instead of em cima do pedestal?
Yes, sobre o pedestal is perfectly correct and means the same thing. Sobre is slightly more formal and literary, whereas em cima de (literally "on top of") is extremely common in everyday Portuguese to describe physical placement. Given the slightly elevated tone of eis, sobre would fit right in, but em cima do works perfectly well to ground the sentence.
Learn Eis a mesma estátua de mármore e bronze em cima do pedestal and more in Portuguese
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free