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Metade dos alunos está doente.

Metade dos alunos está doente.
Half of the students are ill.
From Lesson 133:As medidas e as quantidades (a dúzia, tanto)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Metade dos alunos está doente.

Why does it say está (is) instead of estão (are), since we are talking about multiple students?
In Portuguese, the verb agrees with the main word of the subject. Here, the subject is headed by Metade (Half), which is singular. So, we use the singular verb está, even though English uses the plural 'are'.
Why is the adjective doente singular instead of plural?
Just like the verb, the adjective doente (ill) is agreeing with the singular noun Metade (Half). If the sentence was just about the students, it would be Os alunos estão doentes. But since the subject focuses on the 'half', everything matches that singular word.
Why do we use está instead of é for being ill?
We use the verb estar (to be) because being ill is a temporary condition. You use ser for permanent traits, but for sickness, feelings, or temporary states, estar is the right choice.
What words are combined to make dos?
The word dos is a mandatory contraction of the preposition de (of) and the plural masculine article os (the). Whenever de is followed by os, they must shrink together to form dos.

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