Breakdown of Os teus sapatos estão nessa caixa.
estar
to be (temporary / location)
teu
your (informal, m/f/pl: teu, tua, teus, tuas)
o sapato
the shoe
a caixa
the box
nesse
in that (m/sg), nessa (f/sg), nesses (m/pl), nessas (f/pl)
Questions & Answers about Os teus sapatos estão nessa caixa.
Where does the word nessa come from?
nessa is a contraction of the preposition em (in/on/at) and the demonstrative essa (that). When you want to say 'in that', em and essa combine to form nessa. It ends in '-a' to match the feminine word caixa (box).
Why do we need Os before teus sapatos? Doesn't that translate to 'The your shoes'?
Yes, it literally means 'The your shoes'! In European Portuguese, it is standard practice to put a definite article (o, a, os, or as) before a possessive word like teus. Since sapatos is masculine and plural, we use Os.
Could I use naquela instead of nessa to say 'in that box'?
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