Eu quero trabalhar menos no próximo ano.

I want to work less next year.

Breakdown of Eu quero trabalhar menos no próximo ano.

• eu: I
• querer: to want
• trabalhar: to work
• próximo: next
• no: in the
• o ano: the year
• menos: less

Questions & Answers about Eu quero trabalhar menos no próximo ano.

Can I drop “Eu” and just say “Quero trabalhar menos no próximo ano”?

Yes. In Portuguese you can usually omit the subject pronoun because the verb ending shows the subject.

• Eu quero trabalhar menos no próximo ano.
• Quero trabalhar menos no próximo ano.

Both mean the same thing. Saying “Eu” can sound a bit more emphatic: “I want to work less next year.”

Why is “quero” in the present tense if I’m talking about next year?

Portuguese often uses the present tense of a verb of desire or intention (like querer, planejar, pretender) to talk about the future.

• Eu quero trabalhar menos no próximo ano. = I want (now) to work less in the future.

If you want a more straightforward “future plan,” you could also say:

• Ano que vem eu vou trabalhar menos. = Next year I am going to work less.

But your original sentence is completely natural; it focuses on your current wish about the future.

How is “querer” conjugated in the present? Why is it “quero” and not something like “quere”?

Querer (to want) is irregular in the present tense. For the singular:

• eu quero – I want
• você / ele / ela quer – you / he / she wants
• nós queremos – we want
• vocês / eles / elas querem – you (pl.) / they want

So “eu quero” is the correct “I want” form; there is no “eu quere.”

Why is “trabalhar” in the infinitive after “quero”?

In Portuguese, after querer you normally use the infinitive of the main action:

• Eu quero trabalhar. – I want to work.
• Eu quero comer. – I want to eat.
• Eu quero viajar. – I want to travel.

So “quero trabalhar” = “want to work.” You don’t conjugate trabalhar here; you leave it in the infinitive, just like English uses “to work.”

What exactly does “menos” mean here? Is it “less” or “fewer”?

Portuguese uses “menos” for both “less” and “fewer.” There’s no separate word depending on countable vs. uncountable:

• trabalhar menos – work less (fewer hours / less time / reduced workload)
• comprar menos coisas – buy fewer things
• comer menos açúcar – eat less sugar

So in your sentence, “menos” just means “less” in a general sense.

Why is it “no próximo ano” and not “em o próximo ano”?

“No” is a contraction of the preposition “em” + the masculine singular article “o.”

• em + o = no
• em + a = na

So:

• no próximo ano = in/on the next year
• na próxima semana = in/on the next week

Saying “em o próximo ano” is grammatically wrong; you must contract to “no.”

Why is it “próximo ano” and not “ano próximo”?

Adjectives in Portuguese can go before or after nouns, but with time expressions like “próximo” (next) and “passado” (last), the normal, natural position is before:

• próximo ano – next year
• ano passado – last year

“Ano próximo” is grammatically possible but sounds unusual or poetic. In everyday speech, people almost always say “próximo ano” or “ano que vem.”

What’s the difference between “próximo ano” and “ano que vem”?

Both mean “next year” and are very common in Brazil:

• próximo ano – slightly more neutral/formal
• ano que vem – very common and colloquial

You can say:

• Eu quero trabalhar menos no próximo ano.
• Eu quero trabalhar menos no ano que vem.
• Ano que vem eu quero trabalhar menos.

All are natural in Brazilian Portuguese.

Does “próximo” have to agree with “ano” in gender and number?

Yes. Adjectives in Portuguese agree with the noun:

• o próximo ano – the next year (masculine singular)
• os próximos anos – the next years (masculine plural)
• a próxima semana – the next week (feminine singular)
• as próximas semanas – the next weeks (feminine plural)

In your sentence, “ano” is masculine singular, so “próximo” is masculine singular too.

How flexible is the word order? Can I move “no próximo ano” or “eu” around?

Portuguese word order is somewhat flexible. All of these sound natural:

• Eu quero trabalhar menos no próximo ano.
• Quero trabalhar menos no próximo ano.
• No próximo ano eu quero trabalhar menos.
• No próximo ano quero trabalhar menos.
• Ano que vem eu quero trabalhar menos.

Moving phrases around can slightly change emphasis, but the meaning stays basically the same.

How would I say “I would like to work less next year”, more politely?

A more polite or softer version is:

• Eu gostaria de trabalhar menos no próximo ano.

“Gostaria” is the conditional of “gostar” and works like “I would like” in English. It sounds less direct and more polite than “Eu quero trabalhar menos…”

Could I use the future tense instead, like “trabalharei menos no próximo ano”?

You can say:

• Trabalharei menos no próximo ano.

This is grammatically correct, but in Brazilian Portuguese the synthetic future (trabalharei, trabalharei, farei…) often sounds formal, written, or emphatic.

In everyday speech, Brazilians usually prefer either:

• Vou trabalhar menos no próximo ano. – I’m going to work less next year.
• Quero trabalhar menos no próximo ano. – I want to work less next year.

Your original sentence highlights the desire, not a guaranteed plan.

How do Brazilians usually pronounce “trabalhar” and the final -r?

Pronunciation varies a bit by region, but in much of Brazil:

• trabalhar ≈ tra-ba-LYAR
  
  • lh sounds like the lli in million or família: lha ≈ lya
  • The final -r is often a soft h sound or almost silent: trabalhá(r)

So you might hear something like [trabajáʁ], [trabajáh], or very close to “trabalhá.” All are common Brazilian variants.