Ele não é alto e ela não é portuguesa.

Breakdown of Ele não é alto e ela não é portuguesa.

ser
to be
e
and
não
not / no
alto
tall / high
português
Portuguese
ele
he
ela
she

Questions & Answers about Ele não é alto e ela não é portuguesa.

Why is não placed before é instead of after it?
In Portuguese, you make a sentence negative by simply putting não directly before the verb. Unlike English, where we say "is not", in Portuguese it is structured as "not is" (não é).
Why do the describing words end differently (alto vs portuguesa)?
Adjectives (describing words) must match the gender of the person they describe. Because ele (he) is masculine, we use the masculine form alto. Because ela (she) is feminine, the nationality changes to its feminine form, portuguesa (the masculine would be português).
Is é the correct verb form for both ele and ela?
Yes! The verb form é (meaning "is") is used for all third-person singular subjects. This means it is the exact same for ele (he), ela (she), and also the formal "you" forms like você, o senhor, and a senhora.
What is the difference between the word e (and) and the verb é (is) in this sentence?
The accent mark changes both the meaning and the pronunciation. The verb é (is) is pronounced with an open sound, similar to the "e" in the English word "pet". The connecting word e (and) has no accent and is usually pronounced with an "ee" sound, similar to the "e" in "me".

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