Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Brazil): Eu gosto de descansar no sofá.

gostar de + infinitive ≈ to like to + verb / to like + -ing in English:
- Eu gosto de ler. = I like to read / I like reading.
- Ela gosta de cozinhar. = She likes to cook / cooking.

The -ndo (gerund) form is mostly used with estar:

Estou descansando. = I am resting.

Is the Eu necessary? Can I just say Gosto de descansar no sofá?

Yes, you can drop Eu. In Portuguese, subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb ending shows who the subject is:

Eu gosto de descansar no sofá.
Gosto de descansar no sofá.

Both are correct and mean the same thing.

You use Eu when:

You want to emphasize I (not someone else):
Eu gosto de descansar no sofá, mas ele gosta de sair.
There might be ambiguity about who the subject is.

In everyday speech, you’ll hear both versions.

Why is it no sofá and not em o sofá?

No is a contraction of the preposition em + the article o:

em + o = no
em + a = na
em + os = nos
em + as = nas

So:

em o sofá → no sofá (on the sofa / on the couch)

Portuguese almost always contracts these in speech and writing, so you should use no, na, nos, nas, not em o, em a, etc.

Examples:

no carro = in the car
na cama = in bed
nos Estados Unidos = in the United States
nas férias = on vacation

Why does sofá have an accent, and what does it change?

The accent in sofá does two things:

Shows where the stress is
- so-FÁ (stress on the last syllable)
  Without the accent, the natural tendency would be to read it as SO-fa.
Shows the vowel quality
- á is an open a sound, like the a in father.

So the accent tells you:

Which syllable gets the stress.
How to pronounce the vowel properly.

Is sofá masculine or feminine, and how can I tell?

Sofá is masculine, which you can see from the article o in no sofá (em + o).

Trick: While many nouns ending in -a are feminine, there are several common exceptions that are masculine, and sofá is one of them. Other examples:

o dia (the day)
o mapa (the map)
o programa (the program)
o problema (the problem)

These are irregular and must be memorized with their article:

o sofá
um sofá
os sofás (plural)

How do you pronounce the whole sentence Eu gosto de descansar no sofá?

A neutral Brazilian pronunciation (roughly São Paulo / Rio) would be:

IPA (approximate):
/ew ˈɡɔstu dʒi dʒeskɐ̃ˈsaʁ nu soˈfa/

Broken down:

Eu → /ew/ (like English “ehw”, a glide from e to u)
gosto → /ˈɡɔ-stu/ (first syllable stressed: GÓS-tu, with an open ó)
de → /dʒi/ (sounds like “jee” in most of Brazil)
descansar → /dʒes-kɐ̃-ˈsaʁ/
- des- = “jes”
- -can- = nasal “kɐ̃”
- -sar = SAR (often with a light /ʁ/ at the end)
no → /nu/ (like “noo”)
sofá → /so-ˈfa/ (stress on fá)

Syllable rhythm:
Eu GÓS-to de des-can-SAR no so-FÁ.

Could I use curtir instead of gostar de here?

Yes, in informal Brazilian Portuguese you can say:

Eu curto descansar no sofá.

Curtir is more colloquial, similar to:

“I enjoy resting on the couch.”
“I’m into resting on the couch.”

Comparisons:

Eu gosto de descansar no sofá. → neutral, standard, works in most contexts.
Eu curto descansar no sofá. → informal, everyday speech, especially among younger people or in casual conversation.

Grammar difference:

gostar de + noun/infinitive
curtir + noun/infinitive (no de):
- Curto música.
- Curto viajar.

Can I say Eu gosto de descansar no meu sofá? Do I need the possessive?

You can say:

Eu gosto de descansar no meu sofá. = I like to rest on my couch.

In Portuguese, you don’t need to add the possessive every time. No sofá can already be understood from context as “on the (relevant) sofa,” often “my/our sofa” if you’re talking about your house.

Differences:

no sofá = on the sofa (context usually makes it clear whose)
no meu sofá = specifically on my sofa (more explicit, a bit more emphasis)

Both are correct; choose meu when you want to stress ownership.

What’s the difference between Eu gosto de descansar no sofá and Eu estou gostando de descansar no sofá?

Eu gosto de descansar no sofá.
- General preference, a timeless fact about you.
- Like: “I (generally) like resting on the couch.”
Eu estou gostando de descansar no sofá.
- Progressive aspect, used when you’re talking about a current, usually new or temporary liking.
- More like: “I’m enjoying resting on the couch (these days / right now).”

In practice:

For stable preferences, Brazilians overwhelmingly use gosto.
estou gostando appears when something is new or in progress:
- Estou gostando de morar aqui. = I’m liking living here (I’m starting to enjoy it).

Why no sofá and not sobre o sofá or em cima do sofá?

All can be used, but they’re not identical in feel:

no sofá (em + o sofá)
- The default, most natural way to say on the couch or on the sofa.
- Implies being on or in that piece of furniture in the normal way (sitting, lying).
em cima do sofá
- Literally “on top of the sofa.”
- Emphasizes the top surface.
- Often used for objects or people in an unusual position:
  - O gato está em cima do sofá. (The cat is on top of the couch.)
sobre o sofá
- More formal or written; also “over / on top of the couch.”
- Used for things above or resting on it:
  - Há um quadro sobre o sofá. (There is a painting above the couch.)

For your sentence about resting, no sofá is the natural choice.

Is the word order fixed, or could I move parts of the sentence around?

The natural word order here is:

Eu gosto de descansar no sofá.
(Subject + verb + complement + place)

You generally cannot move things around freely like in English. These would be wrong or very unnatural:

Eu gosto no sofá de descansar. ❌
No sofá eu gosto de descansar ✅ (this one works, but it changes emphasis)

Acceptable variations:

Eu gosto de descansar no sofá. (neutral, most common)
Gosto de descansar no sofá. (without eu, still neutral)
No sofá, eu gosto de descansar. (emphasizes on the sofa)

But you should keep gosto de descansar together; don’t break gostar de + verb apart.