Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Lisboa é um lugar grande.

Lisboa é um lugar grande.

Lisbon is a big place.

Breakdown of Lisboa é um lugar grande.

a / an / some (all forms)

grande

big / large

Questions & Answers about Lisboa é um lugar grande.

Why do we use é instead of está here?

É comes from the verb ser, which we use for permanent or unchanging facts. Since Lisbon being a big place is a permanent characteristic, we use é. We would use está (from estar) for temporary conditions.

Why isn't there an article like a (the) before Lisboa?

In Portuguese, many cities and countries require a definite article (like o Porto or a França), but Lisboa is a famous exception. It is almost always used without an article.

Why is it lugar grande and not grande lugar?

In Portuguese, adjectives (descriptive words like grande) usually come after the noun they describe (like lugar). So instead of saying big place, you use the word order place big.

If the word for place was feminine, would grande change to granda?

No, grande is an adjective that ends in -e. These adjectives are neutral and look exactly the same for both masculine and feminine nouns. For example, it is um lugar grande (a big place - masculine) and uma cidade grande (a big city - feminine).