Eu gosto de café forte.

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Breakdown of Eu gosto de café forte.

• gostar de: to like
• o café: the coffee
• forte: bright (of a light)

Questions & Answers about Eu gosto de café forte.

Why do we need de after gosto?

In Portuguese, the verb gostar almost always comes with the preposition de before the thing you like.

• Eu gosto de café. = I like coffee.
• Ela gosta de música. = She likes music.

Literally, it’s more like “to be pleased with / to have liking of” something.
So you cannot say Eu gosto café forte; it must be Eu gosto de café forte.

Can I leave out Eu and just say Gosto de café forte?

Yes. In Brazilian Portuguese, subject pronouns (like eu, você, ele) are often dropped because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• Eu gosto de café forte.
• Gosto de café forte.

Both mean I like strong coffee.
Leaving out eu is very natural in speech and writing, especially when the subject is clear from context.

Why is forte after café and not before, like in English?

In Portuguese, adjectives usually come after the noun:

• café forte = strong coffee
• casa bonita = beautiful house
• livro interessante = interesting book

You would not normally say forte café in everyday speech; that sounds poetic or unusual.
So the natural order is café forte, noun first, then adjective.