Breakdown of O meu pai está doente e fica em casa.
e
and
a casa
the house
o pai
the father / the parents
estar
to be (temporary / location)
em
in / on / at
doente
sick
meu
my (m/f/pl: meu, minha, meus, minhas)
ficar
to stay
Questions & Answers about O meu pai está doente e fica em casa.
Why don't we need to say "ele" (he) after the conjunction e?
Just like in English, you don't need to repeat the subject after the conjunction e (and) when it is the same person performing both actions. The verb form fica already matches the subject O meu pai.
Why do we use está instead of é for "is sick"?
Why is there an O before meu pai?
In European Portuguese, you almost always put a definite article (o or a, meaning "the") before a possessive word like meu (my). You are literally saying "The my father".
Why is it em casa and not na casa?
Em casa is a fixed everyday expression that means "at home", referring to one's own home. If you said na casa, which means "in the house", a Portuguese speaker would expect you to specify exactly which house you are talking about.
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