Learn Portuguese (Portugal): O casaco está aqui e os sapatos estão ali. - The coat is here and the shoes are over there.

Both estar and ser mean "to be", but we use estar to talk about the physical location of people or things. Even if an object is permanently kept somewhere, you still use estar to say where it is!

What is the difference between aqui and ali?

Aqui means "here" (close to the person speaking), and ali means "there" or "over there" (further away from the speaker).

Why does the verb change from está to estão in the second half of the sentence?

The verb has to match the quantity of the noun. In the first half, we are talking about one coat (o casaco), so we use the singular verb está. In the second half, we are talking about multiple shoes (os sapatos), so we use the plural verb estão.

Do I always need to use o or os before words like coat and shoes?