Eu gosto de descansar nas férias.

I like to rest on vacation.

Breakdown of Eu gosto de descansar nas férias.

• eu: I
• gostar de: to like
• descansar: to rest
• as férias: the vacation
• nas: in the

Questions & Answers about Eu gosto de descansar nas férias.

Why do we need de after gosto?

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

• Eu gosto de descansar. = I like to rest.
• Eu gosto de música. = I like music.
• Eu gosto de chocolate. = I like chocolate.

So you don’t say eu gosto descansar or eu gosto férias. You say eu gosto de descansar, eu gosto de férias, etc.
When what follows has an article, de joins with it:

• gosto do livro (de + o)
• gosto da música (de + a)
• gosto dos filmes (de + os)
• gosto das férias (de + as)

Can I drop Eu and just say Gosto de descansar nas férias?

Yes. Subject pronouns are often optional in Portuguese because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• Eu gosto de descansar nas férias.
• Gosto de descansar nas férias.

Both mean the same thing.
Using eu adds a bit of emphasis: I like to rest on vacation (maybe in contrast to what others like).

Why is descansar in the infinitive form and not conjugated?

When gostar de is followed by a verb, that second verb stays in the infinitive:

• Eu gosto de descansar. = I like to rest.
• Ela gosta de ler. = She likes to read.
• Nós gostamos de viajar. = We like to travel.

You don’t conjugate descansar after gosto de.
Something like eu gosto de descanso is possible, but then descanso is a noun (“rest”), not a verb (“to rest”), and the meaning is slightly different.

What’s the difference between gosto de descansar and gosto de descanso?

• gosto de descansar – focuses on the activity: “I like to rest.”
• gosto de descanso – focuses on the thing/state: “I like rest.”

In the context of vacations, gosto de descansar nas férias is the more natural way to say “I like to rest on vacation.”
Gosto de descanso might appear in sentences like Eu preciso de mais descanso (“I need more rest”) or Eu gosto de um bom descanso no fim de semana (“I like a good rest on the weekend”).

Why is it nas férias and not something singular like na férias or na féria?

In Portuguese, férias (vacation) is used almost always in the plural form:

• as férias = the vacation / the holidays

There is no normal singular form a férias or a féria with this meaning.

So:

• nas férias = em + as férias
  (literally “in the vacations”, but it corresponds to “on vacation” / “during the holidays”)

You use na (singular) with singular nouns, like:

• na praia (in/on the beach)
• na escola (at school)

How does the contraction nas work in nas férias?

Nas is a contraction of the preposition em (“in/on/at”) and the plural feminine article as (“the”):

• em + as = nas

Other similar contractions:

• em + o = no → no trabalho (at work)
• em + a = na → na escola (at school)
• em + os = nos → nos Estados Unidos (in the United States)
• em + as = nas → nas férias (on vacation / during the holidays)

Why is férias used here instead of feriado?

Férias and feriado are different:

• férias – a longer break or vacation:

  • school/university vacations
  • time off work (like “going on vacation”)
  • nas férias de julho = during the July vacation

• feriado – a holiday day (public/bank holiday):

  • no feriado = on the holiday
  • no feriado de Natal = on the Christmas holiday

In Eu gosto de descansar nas férias, you’re talking about a vacation period, so férias is correct.

Can I say nas minhas férias to mean “on my vacation”?

Yes. You can add a possessive:

• Eu gosto de descansar nas minhas férias.
  = I like to rest on my vacation.

Structure:

• nas (em + as) + minhas (my, feminine plural) + férias (vacation)

Other examples:

• nas nossas férias (on our vacation)
• nas férias dele (on his vacation)
• nas férias dela (on her vacation)

Can I change the word order, like Nas férias, eu gosto de descansar?

Yes, that is very natural:

• Eu gosto de descansar nas férias.
• Nas férias, eu gosto de descansar.

Both are correct and common.
What you generally don’t do is break gosto de descansar in the middle, like:

• ✗ Eu gosto nas férias de descansar (strange/unnatural)

Keep gosto de descansar together, and you can move nas férias to the front or leave it at the end.

Why can’t I say Eu gosto descansar nas férias without de?

Because gostar in Portuguese requires the preposition de before a noun or a verb:

• gostar de + [noun]
• gostar de + [verb in infinitive]

So:

• ✗ eu gosto descansar
• ✓ eu gosto de descansar

Skipping de here is ungrammatical in standard Portuguese.

How do I pronounce gosto, descansar, nas, and férias in Brazilian Portuguese?

Approximate pronunciations (Brazilian):

• gosto ≈ GOHS-toh

  • gos- like “goss” in gossip (no “sh” sound)
  • stress on GOHS

• descansar ≈ des-cahn-SAR

  • de like “deh”
  • scan sounds like “skahn”
  • final r is often soft / breathy in many Brazilian accents
  • stress on -sar

• nas ≈ nahs

  • like “nahs” with a short a

• férias ≈ FEH-ree-ahs

  • fé like “feh”
  • rias like “ree-ahs”
  • stress on FEH: FÉ-rias

How is gostar conjugated in the present tense with different subjects?

Present tense of gostar:

• eu gosto – I like
• você gosta – you like (singular, informal/formal in Brazil)
• ele/ela gosta – he/she likes
• a gente gosta – we like (informal, very common in Brazil)
• nós gostamos – we like (more formal / written)
• vocês gostam – you (all) like
• eles/elas gostam – they like

Examples:

• Você gosta de descansar nas férias? – Do you like to rest on vacation?
• Eles gostam de viajar nas férias. – They like to travel on vacation.