Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Os livros são pequenos.

Os livros são pequenos.

The books are small.

Breakdown of Os livros são pequenos.

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Questions & Answers about Os livros são pequenos.

Why does this sentence start with Os instead of O?

O means "the" for a singular masculine word. Because we are talking about multiple books (livros), we have to use the plural masculine form of "the", which is Os.

What verb is são and why is it used here?

São is the "they" form of the verb ser (to be). We use the plural form because we are talking about multiple books. We use ser because the size of the books is treated as a permanent or defining characteristic.

Why does the word pequenos have an 's' at the end?

In Portuguese, adjectives (describing words) must match the noun they describe in both gender and number. Since os livros is plural, the adjective pequeno (small) must also become plural by adding an 's', making it pequenos.

If I wanted to just say "They are small", what pronoun would I use?

You would use the plural subject pronoun eles (they) and say Eles são pequenos. Because livros is masculine, you must use the masculine "they". In Portuguese, you could also just drop the pronoun entirely and simply say São pequenos.