Breakdown of São três da manhã.
ser
to be
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
três
three
a manhã
the morning
Questions & Answers about São três da manhã.
Why does this sentence use São (they are) instead of É (it is) to say 'It is three'?
Where is the word for 'o'clock' or 'hours'?
It is completely optional here! Just like in English, you can say São três instead of São três horas. Dropping the word horas is very common and natural in everyday Portuguese.
Why do we use da for 'in the' instead of na?
When specifying the time of day with the hour, Portuguese uses the preposition de (of) combined with the feminine word for 'the' (a) to make da. So da manhã literally translates to 'of the morning'. You will also use this pattern for da tarde (in the afternoon) and da noite (at night).
The lesson covers contractions like às. Why isn't às used in this sentence?
You use às (a contraction of a + as) when you want to say that something happens at a certain time, such as O filme começa às três (The movie starts at three). But when you are simply stating what the current time is, you just use the verb ser directly: São três (It is three).
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