Morar em

Understanding “Morar em” in Brazilian Portuguese

In Brazilian Portuguese, we use the phrase morar em to talk about where someone lives. It’s similar to saying “to live in” in English. This phrase is very useful for expressing where you live, whether it’s a city, a country, or a specific location. In this article, we will explain how to use morar em correctly and when to use em, na, and no.

Conjugação
(Regular verb ended with -ar)

Eu moro
Ele, ela, você mora
Nós moramos
Eles, elas, vocês moram

1. Basic Structure: Morar em

The phrase morar em is used to talk about where you live. You can use morar em with cities, countries, or neighborhoods.

For example:

• Eu moro em São Paulo. – I live in São Paulo.
• Ela mora em Paris. – She lives in Paris.
• Nós moramos em Nova York. – We live in New York.

In these sentences, we always use em with cities. It’s straightforward!

2. Using na and no for Countries or Specific Places

When talking about countries or specific places, em changes depending on the gender of the noun, just like with ser de. Here’s the rule:

• Use na (em + a) for feminine nouns.
• Use no (em + o) for masculine nouns.

Na (Feminine)

• Eu moro na França. – I live in France.
• Ela mora na Itália. – She lives in Italy.

Here, França and Itália are feminine, so we use na.

No (Masculine)

• Ele mora no Brasil. – He lives in Brazil.
• Nós moramos no México. – We live in Mexico.

In these cases, Brasil and México are masculine, so we use no.

3. Special Cases: Places with Plural Names

For countries or places that have plural names, we use nos (em + os) for masculine plural and nas (em + as) for feminine plural.

Examples:

• Eu moro nos Estados Unidos. – I live in the United States.
• Eles moram nas Filipinas. – They live in the Philippines.

4. Using Morar em with Specific Places

You can also use morar em with specific places like neighborhoods, streets, or buildings. Here’s how:

• Eu moro no centro. – I live in the downtown area.
• Ela mora na Avenida Paulista. – She lives on Paulista Avenue.
• Nós moramos no apartamento 5. – We live in apartment 5.

As you can see, no is used with masculine places, and na is used with feminine places.

Summary

• Use em for cities: Eu moro em São Paulo (I live in São Paulo).
• Use na for feminine countries/places: Eu moro na Itália (I live in Italy).
• Use no for masculine countries/places: Eu moro no Brasil (I live in Brazil).
• Use nos/nas for plural places: Eu moro nos Estados Unidos (I live in the United States).

Practice:

Complete the sentences with the correct form of morar em:

1. Eu ______ ______ Itália. (I live in Italy.)
2. Eles ______ ______ Brasil. (They live in Brazil.)
3. Nós ______ ______ Paris. (We live in Paris.)
4. Ela ______ ______ Estados Unidos. (She lives in the United States.)
5. Você ______ ______ Avenida Paulista? (Do you live on Paulista Avenue?)

Answers:

1. Eu moro na Itália.
2. Eles moram no Brasil.
3. Nós moramos em Paris.
4. Ela mora nos Estados Unidos.
5. Você mora na Avenida Paulista?

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