A frigideira está em cima do fogão.

Questions & Answers about A frigideira está em cima do fogão.

Why use em cima do instead of just no for 'on the'?
While no (the contraction of em + o) can mean 'on the' or 'in the', em cima do specifically means 'on top of the'. In Portuguese, it is very common to use em cima de to emphasize that something is resting on a surface, which avoids any confusion with it being inside.
Why do we use está here instead of é?
We use está (from the verb estar) because we are talking about a physical location. A great rule of thumb to remember is that Portuguese always uses estar to describe where people, objects, and places are physically located, regardless of whether that location is temporary or permanent.
Why is it do fogão and not just de fogão?
The expression for 'on top of' is em cima de. Because fogão (stove) is a specific masculine noun in this sentence (we are saying 'on top of THE stove'), we need the masculine word for 'the', which is o. When the preposition de meets the article o, they combine into the mandatory contraction do.
The word fogão ends in -ão. How do I make it plural?
To say 'stoves', you change the ending to -ões, making it fogões. While there are a few exceptions, most masculine nouns ending in -ão follow this exact pattern to form their plural.

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