Breakdown of Se a cortina está rasgada, o hotel tem um problema.
ter
to have
um
a / an / some (all forms)
o problema
the problem
estar
to be (temporary / location)
o hotel
the hotel
se
if
a cortina
the curtain
rasgar
to tear
Questions & Answers about Se a cortina está rasgada, o hotel tem um problema.
Why does rasgada end in an -a here?
It comes from the verb rasgar (to tear), which has the regular past participle rasgado. Because it is used here as an adjective to describe a resulting state, it must match the gender and number of the noun it describes. Since a cortina is feminine and singular, rasgado becomes rasgada.
Why do we use está instead of é to say the curtain is torn?
We use está (from estar) because being torn is a resulting physical state, not an essential or permanent characteristic of the curtain. An action happened to it, leaving it in this condition.
Why is it um problema instead of uma problema, since the word ends in -a?
Why doesn't tem have an accent mark in this sentence?
The verb ter (to have) is spelled tem without an accent for the third-person singular, which perfectly matches o hotel. You only add a circumflex accent (têm) for the third-person plural (for example, if it were the hotels have).
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