Breakdown of Eu continuo a estudar português porque ele é importante.
eu
I
ser
to be
português
Portuguese
estudar
to study
ele
he
porque
because
importante
important
continuar
to continue
a
to
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Questions & Answers about Eu continuo a estudar português porque ele é importante.
Why is the preposition a used before the infinitive estudar in this sentence?
In Portuguese, certain verbs are followed by a preposition when they link to an infinitive. Here, continuar takes the structure a + infinitive (“a estudar”) to indicate an action that continues. Although many Brazilian speakers might opt for the gerund form (estudando), the construction continuo a estudar is grammatically correct and common in other varieties of Portuguese.
What does the pronoun ele refer to in the clause porque ele é importante?
The pronoun ele refers back to português. In Portuguese, nouns have grammatical genders, and the word português (meaning the Portuguese language) is masculine, so the pronoun ele is used instead of a feminine form.
Is it also acceptable to use the gerund form instead of the infinitive in this sentence?
Yes, it is. You could say Eu continuo estudando português porque ele é importante. Both constructions convey an ongoing action; however, using a estudar is traditionally correct and more common in European Portuguese, while the gerund (estudando) is widely used in Brazilian Portuguese.
Why is português written in lowercase in this sentence, unlike in English?
In Portuguese, names of languages are not capitalized. Unlike English, where we write “Portuguese” with a capital P, in Portuguese the language name português is written with a lowercase letter.
How is the verb continuar conjugated in this sentence, and what does this form indicate about the subject?
The verb continuar is conjugated as continuo, which is the first person singular present tense form. This form clearly indicates that the subject is Eu (I), showing that the speaker is the one continuing the action of studying.
What role does the conjunction porque play in the sentence?
The word porque means “because” and serves as a subordinating conjunction that introduces the reason behind the action. It connects the main clause (Eu continuo a estudar português) with the explanation (ele é importante).