Breakdown of Vocês são simpáticos, mas estão cansados.
ser
to be
vocês
you (pl)
mas
but
estar
to be (temporary / location)
cansado
tired
simpático
nice
Questions & Answers about Vocês são simpáticos, mas estão cansados.
Why do we use são for being nice, but estão for being tired?
Since vocês means "you" (plural), why don't we use a "you" verb form?
Why do the adjectives simpáticos and cansados both end in -os here?
Adjectives must match the gender and number of the people they describe. Because vocês is plural, the adjectives are plural. The -os ending tells us this group of people is either all male or a mix of men and women. If the speaker were talking to a group of only women, it would be Vocês são simpáticas, mas estão cansadas.
Is simpáticos related to the English word "sympathetic"?
No, it is a "false friend"! Simpático means nice, friendly, or pleasant. If you want to describe someone as sympathetic in Portuguese, you would use a word like compreensivo.
Learn Vocês são simpáticos, mas estão cansados and more in Portuguese
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free