Eu estudei bastante português na semana passada.

I studied a lot of Portuguese last week.

Breakdown of Eu estudei bastante português na semana passada.

• eu: I
• português: Portuguese
• estudar: to study
• na: in
• passado: past
• bastante: a lot
• a semana: the week

Questions & Answers about Eu estudei bastante português na semana passada.

Why is estudei used in this sentence instead of estudava or estudado?

Estudei is the simple past tense (Pretérito Perfeito) in Portuguese, which indicates a completed action in the past. Estudava (Imperfect) suggests a continuous or repeated action in the past without a clear ending, and estudado is a past participle typically used with auxiliary verbs (e.g., ter estudado).

Why do we say bastante instead of muito here?

Both bastante and muito can mean "a lot," but bastante often adds the nuance of "enough" or "plenty." It emphasizes the quantity studied, showing it was substantial.

Why is it na semana passada and not em semana passada?

Na is a contraction of em + a, so na semana passada literally means "in the (last) week." Native speakers usually contract em with the following article or demonstrative.

Why is it passada instead of passado?

Passada is the feminine form of the adjective passado, agreeing with semana, which is a feminine noun in Portuguese. If you were talking about a masculine noun (like mês), you would say mês passado.

Can I switch the word order and say: Eu estudei português bastante na semana passada?

Although it wouldn’t be grammatically incorrect, it’s more natural to keep bastante right after estudei, as in Eu estudei bastante português na semana passada. In Portuguese, adverbs commonly come directly after the verb for clarity and flow.