Learn Portuguese (Portugal): A prata do anel é antiga.

A prata do anel é antiga.

The ring's silver is old.

Breakdown of A prata do anel é antiga.

ser

to be

of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)

Questions & Answers about A prata do anel é antiga.

Why do we say do anel instead of something like "o anel's prata"?

Portuguese does not have an apostrophe-s for possession like English does. Instead, you must always use the structure "the [item] of the [owner]". Here, do is the required contraction of de (of) and o (the), giving us literally "the silver of the ring".

Why is the adjective antiga feminine when the word right before it, anel, is masculine?

The adjective antiga describes the subject of the sentence, which is a prata (the silver), a feminine noun. It does not describe the ring itself. If you wanted to say the ring was old, you would say o anel é antigo.

Why do we use é instead of está for the word "is" here?

We use é (from the verb ser) because being antique or old is a permanent, defining characteristic of the material. The verb estar is used for temporary conditions, and silver does not temporarily become old.

If there were multiple rings, how would I make anel plural?

To make most Portuguese nouns ending in -l plural, you drop the -l and add -is. Therefore, the plural of anel is anéis. Note that it also gains an accent mark on the e to keep the pronunciation of that vowel open!