Breakdown of Eles estão a ouvir um poema novo.
eles
they (m)
novo
new / young
um
a / an / some (all forms)
estar
to be (temporary / location)
ouvir
to hear
o poema
the poem
Questions & Answers about Eles estão a ouvir um poema novo.
How does estão a ouvir translate to "are listening"?
In European Portuguese, we form the present continuous (actions happening right now) using the verb estar (to be) + a + the infinitive of the main verb. Here, we use estão because the subject is Eles (they), followed by a, and the infinitive verb ouvir (to listen).
Why does it say um poema novo? Doesn't the ending "-a" in poema make it feminine?
Usually, words ending in "-a" are feminine. However, poema is an exception. Many words ending in "-ma" that come from Greek are actually masculine. Therefore, it must be used with the masculine article um (a) and the masculine adjective novo (new). Other common masculine words like this include o problema and o sistema.
Can ouvir mean both "to hear" and "to listen"?
Yes! While English has separate words for "hearing" (a sound coming to your ears) and "listening" (paying attention to a sound), Portuguese often uses ouvir for both. Another verb, escutar, also means "to listen" and implies paying closer attention, but ouvir is perfectly natural and very common for listening to things like music or poems.
Why is the word order poema novo instead of novo poema?
In Portuguese, adjectives generally come after the noun they describe. Since novo (new) is describing the noun poema (poem), it follows it directly in the sentence.
Learn Eles estão a ouvir um poema novo and more in Portuguese
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free