Breakdown of Estamos a ler uma história interessante.
um
a / an / some (all forms)
estar
to be (temporary / location)
ler
to read
interessante
interesting
a história
the story
Questions & Answers about Estamos a ler uma história interessante.
How do we form the 'are reading' part of this sentence?
In European Portuguese, we talk about actions happening right now using the verb estar (to be) + a + the infinitive (the basic, unchanged form) of the action verb. Here, it is estamos (we are) + a + ler (to read).
Since 'we are' can be somos or estamos, why must we use estamos here?
Estar is used for temporary states or ongoing actions. Since reading a story is an action happening right now that will eventually finish, we use estamos instead of somos (which is reserved for permanent characteristics).
Why is it história interessante instead of interessante história?
In Portuguese, adjectives (describing words) almost always come after the noun they describe. So, instead of saying 'an interesting story', we say 'a story interesting' (uma história interessante).
Uma história is a feminine noun. Why does interessante not change to end in 'a'?
While many adjectives change their ending to -o or -a to match masculine or feminine nouns, adjectives that end in -e are neutral. A word like interessante stays exactly the same whether it describes a feminine word like história or a masculine word like livro (book).
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