Question 1

Where does the word no come from in no escritório and no café?

Accepted Answer

The word no is a contraction of the preposition em (in/on/at) and the masculine singular word for "the", which is o. In Portuguese, you must combine them: em + o becomes no. Because both escritório (office) and café (café) are masculine words, they both use no.

Question 2

Why do we use estamos and estão here instead of somos and são?

Accepted Answer

Both pairs of verbs mean "to be", but we use the verb estar (which estamos and estão come from) to talk about temporary states and locations. Even though a building doesn't move, your presence inside it is a temporary location, so we always use estar to say where someone or something currently is.

Question 3

Is it okay to leave out the pronouns nós (we) and eles (they)?

Accepted Answer

Yes! In Portuguese, the verb ending tells you who is doing the action, so you could perfectly say Estamos no escritório, mas estão no café. People often keep the pronouns for emphasis or to make a clear contrast, like pointing out the difference between where "we" are and where "they" are in this sentence.

Question 4

I learned that café means the drink (coffee). Does it also mean the coffee shop?

Accepted Answer

Exactly! Just like in English, the word café can refer to the drink itself or the place where you go to drink it. In this sentence, because we are talking about a physical location that people are inside, it means the coffee shop.

Nós estamos no escritório, mas eles estão no café.

Breakdown of Nós estamos no escritório, mas eles estão no café.

Questions & Answers about Nós estamos no escritório, mas eles estão no café.

Learn Nós estamos no escritório, mas eles estão no café and more in Portuguese