Breakdown of A frigideira está em cima do fogão.
do
of the / from the (do, da, dos, das)
estar
to be (temporary / location)
em cima de
on top of
o fogão
the stove
a frigideira
the frying pan
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?
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.
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