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O caderno está na gaveta.

O caderno está na gaveta.
The notebook is in the drawer.
From Lesson 10:Preposition for locations (em, no, na)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about O caderno está na gaveta.

Why is it na instead of just em?
na is a contraction of the preposition em (in) and the feminine definite article a (the). Because gaveta (drawer) is a feminine noun, you need the article to say "in the drawer", which combines into em + a = na.
Does na mean "in the" or "on the"?
It can mean both! The base preposition em translates to "in", "on", or "at" depending on the context. Since notebooks typically go inside drawers, "in the" is the natural translation for na in this specific sentence.
Why do we use está here instead of é for "is"?
We use está (from the verb estar) because we are talking about a physical location. In Portuguese, you use estar for locations and temporary states, while you use ser (which gives us the word é) for permanent traits.
How do I know if the nouns here are masculine or feminine?
You can often tell by looking at their last letter! Caderno ends in "o", which is the standard ending for masculine nouns, so it uses the masculine article O. Gaveta ends in "a", which is standard for feminine nouns, so it pairs with the feminine article a (which is hiding inside the contraction na).

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