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O professor está no restaurante hoje.

O professor está no restaurante hoje.
The teacher (m) is in the restaurant today.
From Lesson 9:Contrasting the two verbs to be (ser vs. estar)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about O professor está no restaurante hoje.

Why do we use está (from estar) instead of é (from ser) in this sentence?
Está is a form of the verb estar, which is used for temporary states and physical locations. Because being at the restaurant is a temporary location, we use está. If we were talking about a permanent characteristic, like his job, we would use the verb ser: Ele é professor (He is a teacher).
Why does the sentence say no restaurante instead of em o restaurante?
In Portuguese, the word em (in/on/at) always combines with the word for "the" (o or a). Since restaurante is a masculine noun, we combine em + o to get the contraction no. You will never see em o written as two separate words.
Does professor only mean a university professor?
No, in Portuguese, professor (or professora for a female teacher) is used for any teacher, from primary school all the way up to university level.
Could I move hoje to the beginning of the sentence?
Yes! You can comfortably say Hoje o professor está no restaurante. Moving time words like hoje (today) to the start of the sentence is very common and simply places a bit more emphasis on when he is there.

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