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É um apelido muito comum em Portugal.

É um apelido muito comum em Portugal.
It is a very common surname in Portugal.
From Lesson 455:A saúde e a pessoa (a doença, a idade)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of É um apelido muito comum em Portugal.

muito
much / very
o apelido
the surname
comum
common, ordinary

Questions & Answers about É um apelido muito comum em Portugal.

Wait, doesn't apelido mean 'nickname'?
In Brazilian Portuguese, yes! But in European Portuguese, apelido strictly means 'surname' or 'last name'. If you want to say 'nickname' in Portugal, you would use the word alcunha.
Why is it just em Portugal and not no Portugal?
While many countries in Portuguese take a definite article (making the preposition combine, like no Brasil or na França), Portugal is a classic exception. It does not take a definite article, so you just use the bare preposition em. Other exceptions include Angola and Moçambique.
Could I use está instead of é to imply the name is common right now?
No, you must use é (from the verb ser). In Portuguese, the fact that a name is common is treated as a defining, intrinsic characteristic of the name, rather than a temporary state or condition.
How does the spelling of comum change if the sentence were plural?
Words ending in -m change to -ns in the plural. If you were talking about multiple surnames, the phrase would become apelidos muito comuns.

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