Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Brazil): A aluna faz perguntas interessantes sobre cada capítulo e parece muito inteligente. - The female student asks interesting questions about each chapter and seems very intelligent.

A aluna = the (female) student (a specific one)
Aluna by itself sounds incomplete here; it would feel more like a label (e.g. in a heading or list).

So A aluna faz perguntas… is the natural way to say “The student asks / is asking questions…” about a particular student already known in context.

What is the nuance of using aluna instead of estudante?

Both mean “student,” but:

aluna: explicitly female student (masculine: aluno).
estudante: can be male or female, and is a bit more general/formal.

So A aluna tells you clearly that the subject is a girl/woman. A estudante could also be used, but it doesn’t highlight gender as strongly (you’d know it’s female only because of the article a).

Why is the verb faz singular even though perguntas is plural?

The verb agrees with the subject, not with the object.

Subject: A aluna (singular)
Verb: faz (3rd person singular of fazer)
Object: perguntas interessantes (plural)

So:

A aluna faz perguntas. ✅
As alunas fazem perguntas. ✅ (plural subject → plural verb)

The fact that perguntas is plural does not affect the form of faz.

Why do we say faz perguntas instead of just pergunta?

Portuguese often uses the expression fazer perguntas (“to make/ask questions”) instead of using the verb perguntar directly.

fazer perguntas = to ask questions (literally “make questions”)
perguntar = to ask (someone) (something)

Both are correct, but they’re used a bit differently:

A aluna faz perguntas interessantes.
“The student asks interesting questions.” (focus on the questions themselves)
A aluna pergunta coisas interessantes.
Also possible, but less common and slightly more informal in this context.

With perguntar, you’ll very often specify whom you’re asking:

A aluna pergunta ao professor. – “The student asks the teacher.”
A aluna pergunta ao professor sobre cada capítulo. – “The student asks the teacher about each chapter.”

Could we say A aluna pergunta perguntas interessantes?

No, that sounds wrong in Portuguese.

You either:

use fazer perguntas:
A aluna faz perguntas interessantes. ✅

use perguntar with coisas or without a direct noun object:
A aluna pergunta coisas interessantes. (acceptable)
A aluna pergunta sobre cada capítulo.

But perguntar perguntas is unnatural; Portuguese doesn’t combine perguntar + perguntas the way English can say “ask questions.”

Why is interessantes after perguntas and not before it like in English?

The normal word order in Portuguese is:

noun + adjective

So:

perguntas interessantes = “interesting questions”

Putting the adjective first is possible in some cases, but it usually changes emphasis, tone, or meaning and can sound poetic or marked:

interessantes perguntas – possible, but sounds more literary or emphatic.

For everyday speech, perguntas interessantes is the natural order.

Why is interessantes in the plural form?

Adjectives in Portuguese agree in number (singular/plural) and often gender with the noun they describe.

Noun: perguntas (feminine plural)
Adjective: interessantes (plural form to match perguntas)

Compare:

uma pergunta interessante – one interesting question
duas perguntas interessantes – two interesting questions

Why is it sobre cada capítulo and not de cada capítulo or em cada capítulo?

The preposition sobre often means “about” in the sense of topic:

perguntas sobre cada capítulo = questions about each chapter (topic).

de can also mean “about” in some contexts, but with perguntas, sobre is the most natural and clear for “about (a subject).”

em would mean “in” or “inside”:

em cada capítulo = “in each chapter” (location), not the intended meaning here.

So sobre cada capítulo best expresses “about each chapter” as the subject of the questions.

Why is capítulo singular after cada?

The word cada (“each”) is always followed by a singular noun in Portuguese:

cada capítulo – each chapter
cada aluno – each student
cada dia – each day

Even though we’re talking about more than one chapter overall, cada treats them one by one, so it requires the singular form.

Why is there no article in sobre cada capítulo (why not sobre o cada capítulo)?

In Portuguese, cada does not take an article before it:

✅ cada capítulo
❌ o cada capítulo

So you say:

sobre cada capítulo – about each chapter
em cada página – on each page
com cada aluno – with each student

Adding o/a/os/as before cada is ungrammatical.

What is the difference between parece muito inteligente and é muito inteligente?

parece muito inteligente = “(she) seems/appears very intelligent”
→ This describes how she appears to the speaker; it’s based on impression.
é muito inteligente = “(she) is very intelligent”
→ This states it as a fact.

The original sentence:

…e parece muito inteligente.

suggests that, from what we can observe (her questions, behavior), she gives the impression of being very intelligent, without necessarily claiming it as an absolute fact.

Why is it muito inteligente and not muito inteligentes?

The adjective phrase is describing A aluna, which is singular.

Subject: A aluna (one person)
Adjective: inteligente (singular)
Intensifier: muito (does not change form here)

So:

A aluna parece muito inteligente. ✅ (one student)
As alunas parecem muito inteligentes. ✅ (many students → plural inteligentes)

Can muito come after the adjective, like inteligente muito?

No. When muito means “very”, it normally comes before the adjective:

muito inteligente – very intelligent
muito bonita – very pretty
muito difícil – very difficult

You do not say inteligente muito in this meaning. (There are other uses of muito as a pronoun or noun where it can appear in different positions, but not in this structure.)

Does faz here mean “asks” or “is asking”? How do we know?

Portuguese simple present (faz) can cover both:

habitual actions:
A aluna faz perguntas interessantes…
→ “The student asks interesting questions…” (regularly)
current actions:
In the right context, it can also be understood as “is asking,” although for an action happening right now you can also say:
A aluna está fazendo perguntas interessantes… → “The student is asking interesting questions…”

In your sentence, with sobre cada capítulo, it most naturally sounds like a habitual or repeated behavior: she regularly asks interesting questions about each chapter.