Learn Portuguese (Portugal): É preciso um casaco à noite.

É preciso um casaco à noite.

A coat is needed at night.

Breakdown of É preciso um casaco à noite.

a / an / some (all forms)

Questions & Answers about É preciso um casaco à noite.

"É preciso" literally means "It is necessary". Why does the translation say "A coat is needed"?

É preciso is a very common Portuguese expression used to say that something is needed or necessary. While you could literally translate the sentence as "It is necessary a coat," in English it sounds much more natural to say "A coat is needed."

Does the word preciso change depending on what is needed?

Yes, it does. Because preciso acts as an adjective here, it matches the noun it refers to. Since um casaco is masculine and singular, we use preciso. If you needed a feminine item like uma camisola (a sweater), it would change to match it: é precisa uma camisola.

Why does the à in à noite have an accent mark?

That accent mark shows a contraction where two words have merged together. It combines the preposition a (meaning "at" or "to") and the feminine word a (meaning "the") that goes with noite. So à noite literally translates to "at the night."

Could I say de noite instead of à noite?

Yes, both mean "at night" and you can often use them interchangeably. However, Portuguese speakers tend to use à noite to talk about a specific evening or a routine part of the day, while de noite describes the general state of it being dark outside.