Breakdown of As portas brancas estão limpas.
estar
to be (temporary / location)
a porta
the door
branco
white
limpo
clean
Questions & Answers about As portas brancas estão limpas.
Why does brancas come after portas?
In Portuguese, adjectives that describe a noun usually come after the noun. So, instead of saying the white doors, you put the color after the noun: the doors white (as portas brancas).
Why do brancas and limpas end in -as instead of -os?
Adjectives in Portuguese must match the gender of the noun they describe. The word for door, porta, is feminine. Because we are describing feminine doors (as portas), the adjectives change to their feminine forms: brancas (white) and limpas (clean).
Why do the adjectives have an -s at the end?
Just like they match gender, adjectives must match the number (singular or plural) of the noun. Since there are multiple doors (portas), the adjectives must also be plural, taking an -s at the end.
Why use estão instead of são for the word are?
Both estão (from the verb estar) and são (from the verb ser) mean are in English, but they have different uses. We use estar for temporary states. Being clean is a temporary condition because the doors can get dirty later, so we use estão. If we used são, it would mean the doors are permanently clean by nature.
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