Ele corre depressa.

Ele is the subject pronoun, meaning he.

In Portuguese, subject pronouns are:

• eu = I
• você = you
• ele = he
• ela = she

So ele tells you who is doing the action.

Because corre is a conjugated verb, while correr is the infinitive.

• correr = to run
• ele corre = he runs / he is running

In Portuguese, after a subject like ele, you usually need the verb in the correct form for that subject. For the verb correr, the ele/ela/você form in the present tense is corre.

Corre is in the present tense.

It can mean either:

• he runs
• he is running

Portuguese often uses the simple present where English might use either the simple present or the present continuous. Context tells you which meaning is intended.

Yes. Corre comes from correr, which means to run.

Here is the present tense of correr:

• eu corro = I run
• você/ele/ela corre = you/he/she run(s)
• nós corremos = we run
• vocês/eles/elas correm = you/they run

So corre is the form used with ele.

Depressa is an adverb. It describes how he runs.

So in this sentence, it means quickly / fast.

Adverbs do not change to match gender or number, so depressa stays the same no matter who the subject is.

Because depressa is an adverb, not an adjective.

Adverbs in Portuguese generally do not agree with the noun or subject. They stay in one form.

So you say:

• Ele corre depressa.
• Ela corre depressa.
• Eles correm depressa.

In all cases, depressa stays the same.

Yes. In Brazilian Portuguese, rápido is very commonly used in everyday speech with the meaning fast/quickly.

So both of these are natural:

• Ele corre depressa.
• Ele corre rápido.

A few notes:

• depressa is clearly an adverb.
• rápido is originally an adjective, but in Brazilian Portuguese it is very often used adverbially in informal, natural speech.
• rapidamente also exists, but it can sound a bit more formal or heavier in casual conversation.

Yes, sometimes.

Portuguese often allows the subject pronoun to be omitted because the verb form already gives information about the subject. So Corre depressa can be understood in context.

However, there is an important detail:

• corre could mean he/she/you runs, depending on context.
• Because of that, keeping ele can make the sentence clearer.

So:

• Ele corre depressa. = clear and explicit
• Corre depressa. = possible, but depends more on context

In Brazilian Portuguese, subject pronouns are used more often than in some other varieties of Portuguese, so ele is very normal here.

Because that is the most common and natural position for this kind of adverb in Portuguese.

So:

• Ele corre depressa. = natural

You may sometimes see adverbs in other positions for emphasis or style, but after the verb is the standard, neutral placement here.

A simple approximate pronunciation is:

EH-lee KOH-hee deh-PRESS-ah

A slightly more accurate IPA version is:

/ˈɛ.li ˈkɔ.ʁi deˈpɾe.sɐ/

A few pronunciation notes:

• Ele: the first e is like e in bet
• corre: the rr sound in Brazilian Portuguese is often like a soft h sound in many accents
• depressa: stress is on pres

Depending on region, pronunciation can vary a little.

Usually, yes, in a sentence like this it means literal running.

But like English run, the verb correr can also appear in other expressions and meanings depending on context. For example, Portuguese uses correr in several idiomatic ways.

In Ele corre depressa, though, the basic physical meaning is the natural one.

It is very similar, but a bit more specific.

• Ele corre depressa. can mean he runs fast or he is running fast
• Ele está correndo depressa. more clearly means he is running fast right now

So if you want to emphasize an action happening at this moment, está correndo is often the clearer choice.

Yes, it is natural and correct.

That said, in everyday Brazilian Portuguese, many people would also very naturally say:

• Ele corre rápido.

Both are common and understandable. Depressa is perfectly good Portuguese, and learners should recognize and use it comfortably.