Log inSign up

Isso é a casa e aquilo é o carro.

Isso é a casa e aquilo é o carro.
That is the house and that over there is the car.
From Lesson 1:Demonstratives and the verb to be (isto é, o, a)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of Isso é a casa e aquilo é o carro.

ser
to be
e
and
isso
that
aquilo
that over there
a casa
the house
o carro
the car

Questions & Answers about Isso é a casa e aquilo é o carro.

Why does the sentence use two different words (isso and aquilo) for "that"?
In English, we often just say "that" for anything not right next to us. In Portuguese, distance matters more. Isso means "that" right near the listener (or something just talked about). Aquilo means "that over there" — an object that is far away from both the person speaking and the person listening.
Casa is feminine and carro is masculine. Why do isso and aquilo both end in -o instead of matching the gender of the nouns?
Isso and aquilo are neutral pronouns. This means they don't change to be masculine or feminine. You use these neutral forms when pointing at a general object ("that thing over there") to say what it is. If you were saying "that house" instead of "that is the house", you would have to use a gendered word directly attached to the noun, like essa casa.
Why do we use é for "is" in this sentence?
É is the "he/she/it is" form of the verb ser, which is one of the Portuguese verbs for "to be". We use ser here because we are identifying exactly what an object is. Being a house or a car is a permanent core identity, not a temporary state.
How do I know to use a before casa and o before carro?
A is the feminine word for "the", and o is the masculine word for "the". A good rule of thumb for beginners is to look at the last letter of the noun. Casa ends in -a, so it is a feminine noun (a casa). Carro ends in -o, so it is a masculine noun (o carro).

Learn Isso é a casa e aquilo é o carro 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
Start learning Portuguese →