Breakdown of O telemóvel do homem é novo.
ser
to be
novo
new / young
do
of the / from the (do, da, dos, das)
o telemóvel
the mobile phone
Questions & Answers about O telemóvel do homem é novo.
Why does the Portuguese sentence say do homem instead of using an apostrophe-s like in English?
In Portuguese, there is no apostrophe-s to show possession. Instead, you have to word it as the mobile phone of the man. The word do is a contraction of the preposition de (of) and the masculine definite article o (the).
Is telemóvel the only word for a mobile phone? I have seen the word celular before.
telemóvel is the correct standard word for a mobile phone in Portugal. The word celular is used in Brazil. People in Portugal will understand it, but native speakers there will almost always say telemóvel.
Why do we use é instead of está for a phone being new? Does a phone not get old eventually?
Even though a phone will eventually get old, being new is treated as a defining, built-in characteristic of the object at this stage in its life. Therefore, we use é, which comes from ser, the verb for permanent or defining states. We would use está (from estar) for temporary conditions, like if the phone is broken or turned off.
What is the adjective novo agreeing with in this sentence?