Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Brazil): À noite, eu gosto de assistir a uma série curta antes de dormir. - At night, I like to watch a short series before sleeping.

If you wrote A noite (without accent), that would usually be read as the night (just the article + noun), not the time expression at night.

So, for the time expression you need À noite with the grave accent.

Is there any difference between à noite and de noite?

Both are common and both can mean at night / in the evening.

À noite is a bit more neutral/formal and sounds slightly more planned or habitual:
- À noite, eu estudo. – I study at night (as a routine).
De noite is very common in speech and can feel a bit more casual:
- Eu trabalho de noite. – I work at night.

In many contexts they are interchangeable, and this sentence would also sound natural as:

De noite, eu gosto de assistir a uma série curta antes de dormir.

Why is there a comma after À noite?

À noite is an adverbial phrase of time placed at the beginning of the sentence.

In Portuguese, when you move an adverbial phrase (time, place, manner, etc.) to the front for emphasis or style, it’s very common (and recommended) to separate it with a comma:

À noite, eu gosto de assistir…
De manhã, eu vou à academia.
No Brasil, as pessoas falam português.

If à noite were in the middle or at the end, you normally wouldn’t use a comma:

Eu gosto de assistir a uma série curta à noite.

Do I have to say eu here, or can I just say À noite, gosto de assistir…?

You can absolutely drop eu:

À noite, gosto de assistir a uma série curta antes de dormir.

Portuguese is a pro-drop language: the subject pronoun (eu, você, ele, etc.) is often omitted because the verb ending -o in gosto already shows the subject is eu (I).

Using eu can add slight emphasis or clarity, but both versions are grammatically correct and natural:

À noite, eu gosto de assistir… (slightly more emphasis on I)
À noite, gosto de assistir… (more neutral/stylistic)

Why is it gosto de assistir and not just gosto assistir?

The verb gostar almost always requires the preposition de after it.

Patterns:

gostar de + noun
- Eu gosto de chocolate. – I like chocolate.
gostar de + infinitive
- Eu gosto de ler. – I like to read / I enjoy reading.
- Eu gosto de assistir a séries. – I like watching series.

So gosto assistir is incorrect; you need gosto de assistir.

Why is it assistir a uma série and not just assistir uma série?

In standard (more formal) Portuguese, assistir (to watch / to attend) takes the preposition a before its object:

assistir a algo / a alguém
- assistir a um filme – to watch a movie
- assistir a uma série – to watch a series
- assistir a uma aula – to attend a class

So the fully “correct” structure is:

gosto de assistir a uma série curta

In informal Brazilian speech, many people say assistir um filme / assistir uma série without a. You will hear and see this a lot, but in writing and in more careful speech, assistir a is preferred.

So we have gosto de and then assistir a. Is de assistir a really ok?

Yes. Each verb keeps its own preposition:

gostar de
assistir a

When one verb is followed by another, you don’t “merge” the prepositions; you just keep both:

Eu gosto de assistir a filmes.
Ele começou a assistir a uma série nova.
Nós tentamos aprender a falar português.

In speech, many Brazilians will drop the a after assistir:

Eu gosto de assistir uma série curta.

That’s very common, but the more careful/standard version is gosto de assistir a uma série curta.

What tense and person is gosto? Is it like I like or I am liking?

Gosto is:

present indicative
1st person singular (I)

So eu gosto = I like.

Portuguese rarely uses a progressive form with gostar (like estou gostando) the way English uses I’m liking. Estou gostando exists, but it’s more about a current, developing appreciation (e.g., of a book or a course you just started), not a general preference.

In this sentence, eu gosto de assistir… expresses a general habit/preference, so it corresponds to English I like to watch / I enjoy watching.

Why is série before curta? Could I say uma curta série?

The normal, neutral order in Portuguese is noun + adjective:

uma série curta – a short series
um filme longo – a long movie
uma casa grande – a big house

So uma série curta is the most natural order.

You can say uma curta série, but then the adjective sounds more literary / emphatic / stylistic, not just a plain description. In everyday speech, uma série curta is what you want.

What does série mean here? Is it specifically a TV series?

Yes, in this context uma série usually refers to a TV series / streaming series (like on Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc.).

The word série is:

Feminine noun: a série, uma série
Used for:
- TV shows with episodes
- book series, movie series (depending on context)

So uma série curta suggests a short show (few episodes, or short episodes), something quick to watch before sleeping.

Why is it antes de dormir and not just antes dormir?

In Portuguese, when you use antes (before) followed by a verb in the infinitive, you normally need the preposition de:

antes de + infinitive
- antes de dormir – before sleeping / before going to sleep
- antes de sair – before leaving
- antes de comer – before eating

So:

antes de dormir ✔
antes dormir ✘ (incorrect in standard Portuguese)

Could it also be antes de eu dormir or antes que eu durma? What’s the difference?

Yes, those are also correct but slightly different:

antes de dormir
- Impersonal, simple, very common.
- Roughly: before sleeping / before going to sleep (subject is understood from context).
antes de eu dormir
- Uses the personal infinitive with an explicit subject eu.
- Emphasizes before I sleep (focusing on me as the subject).
- Example: À noite, eu gosto de assistir a uma série curta antes de eu dormir.
  Still correct, but a bit heavier; native speakers often just say antes de dormir.
antes que eu durma
- Uses the subjunctive (durma).
- More formal or literary; often used when there’s a sense of condition, uncertainty, or extra emphasis:
  - Quero falar com você antes que eu durma. – I want to talk to you before I fall asleep.

In your original sentence, antes de dormir is the most natural and common choice.

Are there similar expressions to à noite, like for morning and afternoon?

Yes, very similar time expressions:

de manhã – in the morning
à tarde – in the afternoon
à noite – at night / in the evening

Notice:

Morning: de manhã (not à manhã in everyday use)
Afternoon and night: à tarde, à noite (same a + a = à contraction with grave accent).

Examples:

De manhã, eu corro no parque.
À tarde, eu estudo.
À noite, eu gosto de assistir a uma série curta.

Does assistir always mean to watch?

Not always. Assistir has two main common uses:

assistir a
- show/event etc. = to watch / to attend
- assistir a um filme – to watch a movie
- assistir a uma série – to watch a series
- assistir a um jogo – to watch a game
assistir (often assistir alguém) = to assist / to give assistance, especially in formal contexts:
- O médico assistiu o paciente. – The doctor assisted the patient.
- A equipe social assiste famílias carentes. – The social team assists needy families.

In everyday TV context, like in your sentence, assistir a = to watch.