Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Brazil): Eu não entendi, então vou pedir para ela explicar de novo. - I didn’t understand, so I will ask her to explain again.

“Eu não entendi” is past tense (pretérito perfeito), meaning “I didn’t understand (that specific thing, just now / at that moment).” It refers to a completed event.

“Eu não entendo” is present tense, meaning “I don’t understand (in general / right now, as an ongoing state).”

In the sentence, the speaker is reacting to something that was just said or explained, so the completed-past form “entendi” is the natural choice.

Could I drop the “Eu” and just say “Não entendi, então vou pedir para ela explicar de novo”?

Yes. Portuguese is a “pro‑drop” language: the verb ending already shows who the subject is, so subject pronouns (eu, você, ele…) are often omitted.

“Eu não entendi” – correct, a bit more emphatic: I didn’t understand.
“Não entendi” – also completely correct and very natural in speech.

Brazilians often prefer the shorter version unless they need to stress the subject.

What’s the difference between “vou pedir” and “vou perguntar”?

In Portuguese, these two verbs are not interchangeable:

pedir = to ask for / to request (a favor, an action, an object)
- Vou pedir para ela explicar de novo. → I’ll ask her to explain again (request an action).
perguntar = to ask (a question)
- Vou perguntar o que ela quis dizer. → I’ll ask what she meant (ask a question).

Here, you are asking her to do something (explain again), so “pedir” is the correct verb.

Why is it “vou pedir para ela explicar” and not “vou pedir ela explicar”?

With a person as the “target” of the request, Brazilian Portuguese normally uses:

pedir para + someone + infinitive
→ vou pedir *para ela explicar
literally: “I’m going to ask *for her to explain.”

Leaving out “para” – vou pedir ela explicar – sounds incorrect or very nonstandard. For learners, you should always keep the “para” in this structure: pedir para alguém fazer alguma coisa.

In “para ela explicar”, why do we use “ela” (subject form) and not an indirect object pronoun like “lhe”?

Because “ela” is the subject of the verb “explicar”, not a direct/indirect object in that part of the sentence.

vou pedir *para ela explicar
→ “I’m going to ask *for her to explain.”
Inside that little clause, the one who explains is ela (she), so we use the normal subject pronoun.

An indirect object pronoun like “lhe” can be used directly with “pedir” (especially in formal or European Portuguese), e.g. vou pedir‑lhe que explique, but “lhe” cannot be the subject of “explicar”. In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, “para ela” is the natural choice.

Could I say “vou pedir que ela explique de novo” instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, that is also correct:

vou pedir para ela explicar de novo
vou pedir que ela explique de novo

Differences:

“para ela explicar”
- infinitive is more colloquial and very common in spoken Brazilian Portuguese.
“que ela explique” uses the present subjunctive (explique) and sounds more formal or written, though it’s still perfectly normal.

Meaning-wise, both are essentially “I’m going to ask her to explain again.” The second just feels a bit more formal/structured.

What does “de novo” literally mean, and are there other ways to say “again”?

Literally, “de novo” is “of new”, but idiomatically it means “again / once more.”

Other common options:

de novo – by far the most common in everyday Brazilian Portuguese.
novamente – also “again,” sounds a bit more formal or neutral.
outra vez – literally “another time”; also “again.” More frequent in Portugal, but Brazilians use it too.

All of these could fit here:

…vou pedir para ela explicar *de novo / novamente / outra vez*.

Is “então” here like English “then” or “so,” and do I always need a comma before it?

In this sentence, “então” works like English “so” (a consequence):

Eu não entendi, *então vou pedir…
→ I didn’t understand, **so I’m going to ask…*

The comma is standard because you’re separating two independent clauses:

[Eu não entendi], [então vou pedir para ela explicar de novo].

In informal writing, some people drop the comma (Eu não entendi então vou pedir…), but in careful or formal writing the comma is recommended here.

Why is it “vou pedir” instead of the future form “pedirei”?

Brazilian Portuguese strongly prefers the “ir + infinitive” future in speech:

vou pedir = I’m going to ask / I will ask
pedirei = I will ask (simple future)

“Pedirei” is grammatically correct but sounds formal, stiff, or written in Brazil. In everyday conversation, “vou pedir” is the natural choice.

Is “pra” acceptable instead of “para” in “para ela explicar de novo”?

Yes. “Pra” is the very common spoken contraction of “para” in Brazil:

para ela explicar de novo – more formal / standard writing
pra ela explicar de novo – very natural in speech and informal writing

In actual conversation, most Brazilians will say “pra ela explicar de novo”. In formal texts (essays, official documents), prefer “para”.

Could I say “Eu não compreendi” instead of “Eu não entendi”? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can. “Entender” and “compreender” are very close in meaning and often interchangeable:

Eu não entendi. – most common and everyday.
Eu não compreendi. – a bit more formal or slightly more “intellectual” in tone.

Sometimes people use “compreender” when they want to stress fully grasping something, but most of the time it’s just a stylistic choice. In casual speech, “entender” is much more frequent.

How would I explicitly say “I didn’t understand it” in Portuguese in this context?

Often, Portuguese just omits “it” if context is clear:

Eu não entendi. / Não entendi. – “I didn’t understand (it).”

If you want to make “it” explicit, Brazilians usually use “isso” (that):

Eu não entendi isso.
Não entendi isso que você explicou.

A very formal written option would be “Eu não o entendi” (with “o” as a direct object pronoun), but in spoken Brazilian Portuguese this kind of “o/a” pronoun is rare; “isso” is the natural choice.