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Aquilo é a casa.

Aquilo é a casa.
That over there is the house.
From Lesson 1:Demonstratives and the verb to be (isto é, o, a)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of Aquilo é a casa.

ser
to be
aquilo
that over there
a casa
the house

Questions & Answers about Aquilo é a casa.

Since casa is a feminine word, why do we use aquilo instead of aquela?
Aquilo is a neutral word (it doesn't change for masculine or feminine) used when pointing at a general object or something unidentified: that thing over there. If you were saying that house, you would use the feminine word aquela (aquela casa). But because you are saying That (thing) is the house, you use aquilo.
What is the difference between isso and aquilo?
In Portuguese, distance matters for the word that. You use isso for something close to the person you are talking to (that thing right by you). You use aquilo for something far away from both you and the person you are talking to (that thing way over there).
Why do we use é here instead of está?
É comes from the verb ser, which we use to identify what something fundamentally is. Since you are telling someone the identity of the building (That is the house), you use é. The other verb for to be, estar, is used for temporary locations or feelings.
Why is it a casa and not o casa?
The word casa (house) is a feminine noun, which we can usually guess because it ends in the letter -a. Therefore, it must be paired with the feminine word for the, which is a.

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