Learn Portuguese (Portugal): O rapaz está muito fraco e come pouco.

O rapaz está muito fraco e come pouco.

The boy is very weak and eats little.

Breakdown of O rapaz está muito fraco e come pouco.

to be (temporary / location)

Questions & Answers about O rapaz está muito fraco e come pouco.

If the sentence was about a girl (a rapariga), would muito and pouco change to match her gender?

No, they stay exactly the same! In this sentence, muito (very) and pouco (little) are acting as adverbs of degree. Because they are describing an adjective (fraco) and a verb (come) rather than a noun, they are invariable, meaning they never change shape. However, the adjective would change: A rapariga está muito fraca e come pouco.

Why does muito come before the word it describes, while pouco comes after?

It depends on the type of word the adverb is describing. When an adverb modifies an adjective (like muito describing fraco), it usually goes right before it. When an adverb modifies a verb (like pouco describing the action come), it goes right after the verb.

Why use está instead of é to say "is"?

We use está (from the verb estar) because it describes a temporary state or condition. The boy is feeling weak right now, perhaps because he is sick. If we used é (from the verb ser), it would imply that being weak is a permanent part of his identity or character.

Does come pouco mean he eats "a little bit" or that he barely eats at all?