Learn Portuguese (Portugal): O professor também está na escola.

O professor também está na escola.

The teacher is also at school.

Breakdown of O professor também está na escola.

to be (temporary / location)

in the / on the / at the (m, f, pl forms: na, nos, nas)

Questions & Answers about O professor também está na escola.

Why do we use está here instead of é?

Both verbs mean to be, but we use estar (and its forms like está) for locations. Even though a school is a permanent building, the teacher's presence there is temporary, which is exactly how estar works!

Why does the sentence say na escola instead of just em escola?

In Portuguese, we do not just say at school like in English. We say in the school. The word na is a contraction (mash-up) of the preposition em (in/on/at) and the feminine word for the, which is a. Because escola is feminine, em + a becomes na.

Could I put também at the end of the sentence?

Yes! You can say O professor está na escola também. Putting também before the verb, like in this sentence, is just a very common and natural way to phrase it in Portuguese.

If the teacher were a woman, what would change in this sentence?

The word for a female teacher is professora. Because she is female, you would also need to change the word for the at the very beginning from o to a, making it A professora também está na escola.