Breakdown of Um litro de sumo está na mesa.
a mesa
the table
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
um
a / an / some (all forms)
estar
to be (temporary / location)
na
in the / on the / at the (f.sg)
o sumo
the juice
o litro
the litre
Questions & Answers about Um litro de sumo está na mesa.
Does um mean "a" or "one" here?
It means both! In Portuguese, the word for the number one (um) is exactly the same as the masculine word for "a" or "an". Here it translates nicely to "a litre", but it also literally means "one litre". Remember that um changes to match the gender of the noun, so if we were talking about one bottle (uma garrafa), it would be feminine.
I thought the Portuguese word for juice was suco. Why use sumo?
In Portugal, the drink is almost always called sumo. You will hear suco in Brazil, but in European Portuguese, suco is usually reserved for the natural juices inside plants or meat, not the beverage you pour into a glass.
Why do we use está instead of é for "is" in this sentence?
We use estar (está) because it talks about a physical location. Even though being on the table might seem like a simple fact, Portuguese strictly uses estar for where things are located. If you used ser (é), it would sound like the juice's permanent identity is the table!
Where does the word na come from?
Na is a mandatory combination of the preposition em (in/on/at) and the feminine word for "the" (a). Because mesa (table) is feminine, we need a. Instead of saying em a mesa, Portuguese blends them into na mesa.
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