Learn Portuguese (Portugal): As chaves estão nas gavetas.

As chaves estão nas gavetas.

The keys are in the drawers.

Breakdown of As chaves estão nas gavetas.

a chave

the key

estar

to be (temporary / location)

nas

in the / on the / at the (f.pl)

a gaveta

the drawer

Questions & Answers about As chaves estão nas gavetas.

How does 'in the' translate to nas here?

nas is a combination of the preposition em (in/on/at) and the plural feminine word for 'the', which is as. Because gavetas (drawers) is feminine and plural, we need as. When em and as are right next to each other, they merge to form nas.

Why do we use estão instead of são for 'are'?

Both verbs mean 'to be', but we use estão (from the verb estar) when talking about physical location. Because we are saying where the keys are located right now, estar is the right choice. são (from the verb ser) is used for permanent facts or descriptions.

How do I know if chave is masculine or feminine since it ends in an 'e'?

Words ending in 'e' can be either masculine or feminine in Portuguese, so you just have to memorize their gender as you learn them. chave (key) happens to be feminine, which is why it uses the feminine plural article As to say 'The keys'.

I see a tilde (~) on estão. Does that change how it sounds?

Yes, the tilde tells you to make a nasal sound. The ão sound is very common in Portuguese. It sounds a bit like the 'ow' in the English word 'cow', but you let the air escape through your nose as you say it.