Breakdown of Segundo o professor, é importante praticar todos os dias.
ser
to be
praticar
to practice
todos os dias
every day
importante
important
o professor
the teacher
segundo
according to
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Portuguese grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Segundo o professor, é importante praticar todos os dias.
What does Segundo o professor mean, and what part of speech is segundo here?
Segundo o professor means “according to the teacher.” In this sentence, segundo is a preposition (not the ordinal “second”) used to introduce someone’s opinion or source.
Why is there a comma after professor?
Because Segundo o professor is an introductory adverbial phrase. In Portuguese, you separate such introductory elements from the main clause with a comma.
Why is there an article o before professor? Could I say segundo professor?
In Portuguese you normally include the definite article before a title or role when speaking of a specific person. So you say segundo o professor (“according to the teacher”) rather than segundo professor, which sounds odd and very uncommon.
Why is the verb é used with importante? Who is the subject?
Here é is an impersonal use of the verb ser, meaning “it is.” There is no explicit personal subject; the sentence simply states a general fact or recommendation: “It is important …”
Why is praticar in the infinitive rather than a conjugated form?
After impersonal expressions like é importante, Portuguese often uses the infinitive to talk about general actions: é importante praticar. You could also use a subjunctive clause (é importante que você pratique), but the infinitive is more concise for general advice.
Why doesn’t the sentence include que after importante?
When you link an adjective directly to an infinitive, you omit que. So é importante praticar is correct. If you switch to a personal subjunctive clause, you need que: é importante que você pratique.
What’s the difference between todos os dias and todo dia?
Both mean “every day.” Todos os dias (“all of the days”) is more formal and common. Todo dia (“each day”) is a bit more colloquial. Whichever you use, note that todos agrees in gender and number with dias, hence the plural.
Could I change the word order, for example to Praticar todos os dias é importante?
Yes. Praticar todos os dias é importante is grammatically correct, but placing é importante first (É importante praticar todos os dias) is more natural in everyday speech.
How do you pronounce the key words (segundo, professor, importante, praticar, dias) in Brazilian Portuguese?
Approximate pronunciation using English sounds:
- segundo: seh–GOON–doo
- professor: proh–feh–SOR (stress on the last syllable)
- importante: eem–por–TAN–chee
- praticar: prah–chee–KAR
- dias: JEE–us (with a soft “j” as in “pleasure”)
Are there any agreement rules I should note in this sentence?
Yes. Todos is masculine plural to agree with os dias (also plural). If you changed the noun to a feminine one (e.g., semanas), you’d say todas as semanas.