Eles são irmãos gémeos.

Questions & Answers about Eles são irmãos gémeos.

Why does gémeos come after irmãos instead of before it?
In Portuguese, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe. Here, gémeos (twin) acts as an adjective describing the noun irmãos (brothers/siblings), so it follows it, unlike the English word order.
Could Eles são irmãos gémeos mean "They are a twin brother and sister"?
Yes! In Portuguese, the masculine plural irmãos can mean "brothers" or a mixed-gender group of "siblings". Because masculine is the default for mixed groups, gémeos also takes the masculine plural form if the twins are a boy and a girl.
How would this sentence change if we were talking about twin sisters?
You would change the pronoun, noun, and adjective to their feminine plural forms. Eles becomes Elas, irmãos becomes irmãs, and gémeos becomes gémeas. The verb são remains exactly the same, making the sentence: Elas são irmãs gémeas.
What does the accent mark on gémeos do?
The acute accent on the first e tells you two things: it shows which syllable gets the most emphasis, and it tells you to pronounce it with an "open" E sound, similar to the E in the English word "pet".

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