Breakdown of A escola fica à esquerda.
a escola
the school
à
at the (fem. sg.) / to the (fem. sg.)
ficar
to be located (of places)
a esquerda
the left
Questions & Answers about A escola fica à esquerda.
Why use fica instead of está or é for "is"?
While ficar often means "to stay", Portuguese uses it all the time to talk about the permanent location of buildings, towns, or places. You could technically say está, but fica is the most natural choice when giving directions or pointing out a landmark like a school.
What does the backwards accent on à mean?
That accent marks a contraction. It shows that the preposition a (meaning "to", "at", or "on") has merged with the feminine word for "the", which is also a. Instead of writing the awkward a a esquerda, it becomes à esquerda.
Would I change esquerda to esquerdo if I were talking about a masculine noun, like a hospital?
No, à esquerda is a fixed directional phrase meaning "on the left". Because the word for the direction itself is a feminine noun (a esquerda), it will always stay exactly like this, no matter what building you are talking about.