Breakdown of Eu acordei mais cedo para estudar português.
eu
I
português
Portuguese
estudar
to study
para
to
acordar
to wake up
mais cedo
earlier
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Questions & Answers about Eu acordei mais cedo para estudar português.
What tense is acordei in, and why is it used here?
acordei is the pretérito perfeito do indicativo (simple past). It indicates a completed action that happened at a specific time (you woke up and that act is finished). If you wanted to talk about a habitual or ongoing action in the past, you’d use the imperfect (eu acordava).
Why is acordei used instead of levantei or me levantei?
acordar (intransitive) means “to wake up” (stop sleeping). levantar-se means “to get up” (physically get out of bed). You don’t use a reflexive pronoun with acordar when saying “I woke up,” so eu me acordei is incorrect. If you mean “I got up,” use eu levantei (informal) or eu levantei-me (formal).
What’s the difference between cedo and mais cedo here?
cedo means “early.” mais cedo is comparative: “earlier.”
- acordei cedo = “I woke up early.”
- acordei mais cedo = “I woke up earlier,” often implying “earlier than usual” or “earlier than someone else.”
Can I just say acordei cedo instead of acordei mais cedo?
Yes—acordei cedo is perfectly correct for “I woke up early.” Adding mais gives you that comparative sense of “earlier than normal/expected.”
Why do I need para before estudar? Can I use por or omit it?
To express purpose (“in order to”), Portuguese uses para + infinitive.
- por
- infinitive usually indicates reason (“because of”) and doesn’t work here.
- Omitting the preposition (acordei mais cedo estudar) is ungrammatical.
Is pra estudar okay instead of para estudar?
In informal spoken and written Brazilian Portuguese, yes—pra is the colloquial contraction of para. In formal contexts (academic papers, official documents), stick with para estudar.
Why isn’t português capitalized like languages in English?
In Portuguese orthography, names of languages are written with a lowercase initial: português, inglês, espanhol. In English we capitalize them, but Portuguese treats them as common nouns.
Can I start the sentence with the purpose clause, like “Para estudar português, eu acordei mais cedo”?
Absolutely. Fronting adverbial or purpose clauses is natural in Portuguese and can add emphasis or variety. Both orders are correct.