Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Brazil): Estou pronto para estudar português agora.

In Portuguese, ser expresses permanent traits or identities, while estar expresses temporary states or conditions. Being “ready” is a temporary condition, so you say estou pronto (“I am ready”) rather than sou pronto.

What exactly does pronto mean, and does it change if the speaker is female?

Pronto means “ready.” It agrees in gender with the speaker. A male speaker says pronto, a female speaker says pronta.
Example (female): Estou pronta para estudar.

Why do we use para before the infinitive estudar? Could we use a instead?

Para marks purpose or intention (“in order to”). Standard Brazilian Portuguese prefers pronto para estudar. While you might sometimes hear pronto a estudar, it’s less common in Brazil.

Why isn’t there an article before português? Could we say estudar o português?

Both are correct:

estudar português (no article) is concise and common.
estudar o português is also fine, especially in spoken or informal contexts. Omitting the article simply sounds more direct.

Where should the adverb agora go? Can I move it to the beginning?

Time adverbs like agora are flexible. You can say:

Agora estou pronto para estudar português.
Estou pronto para estudar português agora.
Putting agora at the end emphasizes immediacy; at the beginning, it sets the time frame upfront.

How do you pronounce estou, pronto, and agora?

Approximate pronunciations using English sounds:

estou: es-TOH (stress on the second syllable)
pronto: PROHN-too (the on is nasalized, like the French “on”)
agora: ah-GO-ra (stress on go)

Could I use a progressive form, like “I am getting ready to study”?

Yes, but Portuguese usually prefers a reflexive construction:

Estou me preparando para estudar. (“I am preparing myself to study.”)
Saying estou ficando pronto (“I am becoming ready”) is grammatically okay but less natural.