Log inSign up

Os vossos livros estão na mesa.

Os vossos livros estão na mesa.
Your (plural) books are on the table.
From Lesson 68:Formal and plural possessives: o seu, o vosso·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Os vossos livros estão na mesa.

Why is there an Os before vossos? Isn't vossos enough to say "your"?
In Portuguese, you almost always put a definite article (o, a, os, or as, meaning "the") before a possessive word. So instead of just saying "your books" (vossos livros), you literally say "the your books" (os vossos livros).
Does vossos match the people I am talking to, or the books?
The ending of vossos matches the things being owned, not the owners! Because livros (books) is masculine and plural, you use the masculine plural form vossos. If it were a single book, it would be o vosso livro.
I learned seus means "your". Why use vossos here?
In Portugal, seus usually means "his", "hers", or "theirs". To say "your" when talking to multiple people, it is very common to use vossos to avoid confusion, even if you are talking to them using the everyday vocês.
Why use estão instead of são for "are"?
Both estão (from the verb estar) and são (from the verb ser) mean "are". However, we use estar for temporary states and to describe where things are located. Since the books are physically located on the table, we must use estão.
Where does the word na come from?
Na is a combination of the preposition em (in/on/at) and the feminine word for "the", which is a. Because mesa (table) is a feminine noun, "on the table" is em + a mesa, which shrinks down into na mesa.

Learn Os vossos livros estão na mesa 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
Start learning Portuguese →