O soldado esperou do lado de fora.

O is the masculine singular definite article, meaning the.

So o soldado = the soldier.

In Portuguese, articles are used very often, sometimes more often than in English. Here it refers to a specific soldier, not just any soldier in general.

• o soldado = the soldier
• um soldado = a soldier

Esperou is the third-person singular simple past of esperar.

That means it translates as:

• he waited
• she waited
• it waited
• or sometimes you waited in very formal European-style usage, but not here

In this sentence, because the subject is o soldado, esperou means the soldier waited.

This is a very common question because Portuguese has more than one past tense.

• esperou = simple completed action, viewed as a whole
• esperava = ongoing, habitual, descriptive, or background action in the past

So:

• O soldado esperou do lado de fora. = The soldier waited outside.
  This sounds like a completed event.

• O soldado esperava do lado de fora. = The soldier was waiting outside / used to wait outside.
  This gives more of an ongoing or background feeling.

Literally, it means something like of the side of outside, but that is not how it works naturally in English.

The whole expression do lado de fora is an idiomatic way to say:

• outside
• on the outside
• outside the place/building

A helpful breakdown is:

• lado = side
• de fora = outside / from outside
• do = contraction of de + o

So do lado de fora is best understood as a fixed expression meaning outside.

Because in Portuguese, de + o normally contracts to do.

Very common contractions include:

• de + o = do
• de + a = da
• em + o = no
• em + a = na

So:

• do lado de fora = not de o lado de fora

Using de o here would sound incorrect in standard Portuguese.

Yes, often you can, but the tone is a little different.

• O soldado esperou fora. = The soldier waited outside.
• O soldado esperou do lado de fora. = The soldier waited outside.

The second version can sound a bit more explicit or natural in some contexts, especially when talking about being outside a building, room, gate, or enclosed place.

Other similar options are:

• lá fora = out there outside
• do lado de fora = on the outside / outside

Portuguese often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb form already makes the subject clear.

Here:

• esperou already shows a third-person singular subject
• and o soldado is already stated

So ele would be unnecessary.

• O soldado esperou do lado de fora. = natural
• Ele esperou do lado de fora. = He waited outside
• O soldado, ele esperou... = usually unnecessary and less natural in a neutral sentence

It can mean both, depending on context.

• esperar = to wait
• esperar = to hope / to expect

In this sentence, it clearly means to wait.

Examples:

• Esperei você por uma hora. = I waited for you for an hour.
• Espero que tudo dê certo. = I hope everything works out.

So learners need to use context to tell which meaning is intended.

Usually, in Brazilian Portuguese, esperar can take its object directly without por.

For example:

• Esperei o ônibus. = I waited for the bus.
• Esperei meu amigo. = I waited for my friend.

In English, wait usually needs for, but Portuguese often does not.

In your sentence, there is no direct object stated at all. It just says where the soldier waited:

• O soldado esperou do lado de fora.

You may sometimes hear esperar por, and it does exist, but learners should know that plain esperar without por is very common and normal in Brazil.

Yes. Portuguese allows some flexibility in word order, especially for emphasis or style.

The neutral order here is:

• O soldado esperou do lado de fora.

But you could also say:

• Do lado de fora, o soldado esperou.

That version emphasizes outside more strongly, like Outside, the soldier waited or The soldier waited outside with extra focus on the location.

So the original sentence is the most straightforward, but other orders are possible.

In Brazilian Portuguese, esperou is pronounced approximately like:

• es-pe-ROU

The stress is on the last syllable: -rou.

A rough English-friendly approximation is eh-speh-HOH, but that is only approximate.

A few pronunciation notes:

• es sounds like es
• pe sounds like peh
• rou has a sound somewhat like hoh with an r before it, depending on accent

The exact r sound varies across Brazil.

Soldado is grammatically masculine in this form.

If you want a feminine form, you can use:

• a soldada

So:

• O soldado esperou do lado de fora. = The male soldier waited outside.
• A soldada esperou do lado de fora. = The female soldier waited outside.

In modern usage, job and role nouns sometimes vary depending on context and speaker preference, but soldado/soldada is a straightforward masculine/feminine pair.

Usually, yes, for a sentence like this.

• do lado de fora is a very common, natural way to say outside
• na parte de fora is more literally on the outer part or on the outside part, and it often sounds more physical or contrastive

So for a person waiting outside a place, do lado de fora is usually the better choice.

Examples:

• Ele ficou do lado de fora. = He stayed outside.
• A tinta está na parte de fora da caixa. = The paint is on the outside of the box.

So they are related, but not always interchangeable.