Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Brazil): A autora do meu livro favorito virá à livraria amanhã, e meu autor favorito falará online; será uma conversa interessante. - The female author of my favorite book will come to the bookstore tomorrow, and my favorite male author will speak online; it will be an interesting talk.

In Brazilian Portuguese, many professions have masculine and feminine forms (médico/médica, professor/professora, escritor/escritora, etc.). You choose the form that matches the person’s gender (or their preferred form).

What does do in do meu livro favorito mean, and why not just de meu livro favorito?

do is a contraction of the preposition de + the masculine singular article o:

de + o = do

Here, livro is masculine and singular, so we normally say:

do meu livro favorito = of my favorite book

You could say de meu livro favorito, and it’s not grammatically wrong, but in everyday Brazilian Portuguese the contraction (do, da, dos, das) is strongly preferred whenever possible:

da minha casa = de + a
dos meus amigos = de + os
das cidades grandes = de + as

Why is favorito after the noun (livro favorito) instead of before it, like in English?

In Portuguese, most adjectives normally come after the noun:

livro favorito = favorite book
autor famoso = famous author
conversa interessante = interesting conversation

Putting adjectives before the noun is possible, but it can sound more literary, poetic, or change the nuance. For a simple, neutral description, post‑noun position is the default:

meu livro favorito (normal)
meu favorito livro (strange or very marked)

So the sentence is using the standard, neutral order.

What is the difference between autora and escritora? Are they interchangeable?

They’re close but not identical:

autora = the author of a specific work (book, article, text, etc.)
escritora = a writer (as a profession or general activity)

In this sentence, A autora do meu livro favorito emphasizes the person who wrote that particular book. You could say:

A escritora do meu livro favorito – understandable, but autora feels more precise here.

In many contexts, though, people do use autor(a) and escritor(a) almost interchangeably.

Why is it à livraria with an accent, and not just a livraria?

à (with a grave accent) is the contraction of:

preposition a (to) + feminine article a (the)
a + a = à

We need the preposition a because the verb vir (to come) indicates movement to a place:

vir à livraria = to come to the bookstore

If we wrote just a livraria without the accent, it would look like only the article a (“the bookstore”), with no preposition “to”, which would be wrong after vir in this meaning.

Compare:

Eu vou à livraria. – I’m going to the bookstore. (movement)
Eu estou na livraria. – I am in/at the bookstore. (location, em + a = na)

What’s the difference between à livraria and na livraria?

à livraria = to the bookstore (movement, direction)
na livraria = in/at the bookstore (location)

In your sentence:

virá à livraria amanhã = will come to the bookstore tomorrow (she’s going there)

If you wanted to say she will be there (already at the place), you’d say:

A autora estará na livraria amanhã. – The author will be at the bookstore tomorrow.

Why is it virá and falará, not vai vir and vai falar?

Portuguese has two very common ways to express the future:

Simple future (synthetic)
- virá (will come)
- falará (will speak)
- será (will be)
Periphrastic future with ir
- vai vir (is going to come)
- vai falar (is going to speak)
- vai ser (is going to be)

In Brazilian Portuguese:

The ir + infinitive form (vai vir, vou falar, etc.) is more common in speech.
The simple future (virá, falará) is more formal or written, or used for a more “neutral” or slightly distant future.

So the sentence sounds a bit more formal/neutral. In everyday conversation, many Brazilians would say:

A autora… vai vir à livraria amanhã, e meu autor favorito vai falar online; vai ser uma conversa interessante.

Is online actually used in Brazilian Portuguese, or is there a more “Portuguese” word?

online is completely normal and very common in Brazilian Portuguese, especially in tech and everyday speech:

falar online – speak online
curso online – online course
reunião online – online meeting

There are alternatives:

pela internet – over the internet
virtualmente – virtually
ao vivo pela internet – live on the internet

But online is absolutely natural and widely used. It’s treated as an invariable word (it doesn’t change for gender or number).

Why is there a comma before e in ..., e meu autor favorito falará online? I thought you don’t put a comma before “and”.

English usually avoids a comma before and when linking two clauses, but Portuguese is more flexible.

Here, the writer uses a comma before e because the two clauses have different subjects:

A autora do meu livro favorito virá à livraria amanhã,
e meu autor favorito falará online;

In Portuguese, it’s optional to use a comma before e when it joins clauses with different subjects, especially when you want a slight pause or emphasis. Both are acceptable:

A autora … virá à livraria amanhã e meu autor favorito falará online.
A autora … virá à livraria amanhã, e meu autor favorito falará online.

The version with the comma gives a bit more rhythmic separation between the two events.

Why is there a semicolon (;) before será uma conversa interessante?

The semicolon here separates two closely related but independent ideas:

First idea: A autora ... virá..., e meu autor favorito falará online
Second idea: será uma conversa interessante.

In Portuguese (and English), a semicolon is often used:

Between two complete clauses that are closely connected.
When the writer wants a stronger pause than a comma, but less separation than a period.

The writer could also have used a period:

... falará online. Será uma conversa interessante.

Or even a comma (less formal, more conversational):

..., e meu autor favorito falará online, será uma conversa interessante. (many people write this, but it’s less stylistically clean)

Why is it será uma conversa interessante and not será um conversa interessante?

Because conversa is a feminine noun in Portuguese:

a conversa – the conversation (feminine)
uma conversa – a conversation

So everything that must agree with it is feminine:

uma conversa interessante (fem. sing.)
a conversa interessante
conversas interessantes (plural)

That’s why we use uma, not um:

um = masculine singular
uma = feminine singular

Why do adjectives like interessante come after conversa in uma conversa interessante?

Same principle as with livro favorito:

The default position for adjectives is after the noun:
- uma conversa interessante – an interesting conversation
- um filme bom – a good movie
- uma cidade grande – a big city

Some adjectives can move before the noun for stylistic or meaning changes, but interessante most naturally comes after.
interessante conversa is not wrong, but sounds unusual and poetic/literary.

Why is it A autora do meu livro favorito but meu autor favorito (without o meu)?

In Brazilian Portuguese:

With possessive adjectives (meu, minha, seu, etc.), the definite article is optional in many cases:
- o meu livro / meu livro – my book
- a minha casa / minha casa – my house

Both are correct in Brazil. With family members and in a lot of casual speech, Brazilians often omit the article:

minha mãe (very common)
meu amigo
meu autor favorito

European Portuguese tends to keep the article more consistently (o meu livro, a minha mãe).

In your sentence:

A autora do meu livro favorito – starts with a definite article (A autora = the author).
meu autor favorito – the writer chose the more colloquial pattern without o.
O meu autor favorito would also be correct, just a slightly different style.

What exactly does do meu livro favorito mean: “of my favorite book” or “from my favorite book”?

de in Portuguese is very flexible; it can correspond to English “of”, “from”, “about”, depending on context.

Here, do meu livro favorito means “of my favorite book” in the sense of authorship:

A autora do meu livro favorito
= The author of my favorite book
(she wrote that book)

If we wanted “from my favorite book” (for example, quoting a sentence), we’d usually make that clearer with context:

Uma frase do meu livro favorito – A sentence from my favorite book.
Essa citação é do meu livro favorito. – This quote is from my favorite book.

Does livraria mean “library”? I thought it looked like that.

livraria is a false friend for English speakers:

livraria = bookstore / bookshop (place where you buy books)
biblioteca = library (place where you borrow books)

So virá à livraria = will come to the bookstore, not to the library.