Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Brazil): Eu quero descansar um pouco agora.

Both are correct and common.
Portuguese usually allows you to omit the subject pronoun because the verb ending (-o in quero) already shows that the subject is I.

You might keep Eu if you want to emphasize it, like “I want to rest (not someone else).”

How is quero formed, and how do you conjugate querer?

Quero is the 1st person singular (eu) of the verb querer in the present tense.

Present tense of querer in Brazilian Portuguese:

eu quero – I want
você quer – you want (singular, standard “you” in Brazil)
ele/ela quer – he/she wants
a gente quer – we want (informal “we”)
nós queremos – we want (more formal)
vocês querem – you (plural) want
eles/elas querem – they want

In your sentence, quero must agree with eu.

Why is descansar in the infinitive (the “to” form)? Could I say eu quero descanso instead?

You use the infinitive after verbs like querer:

quero descansar = I want to rest

This pattern is very common: querer + infinitive.

You can say eu quero descanso, but it means something slightly different:

eu quero descansar = I want to rest (I want to do the action of resting).
eu quero descanso = I want rest (I want “rest” as a thing/condition).

Both make sense, but quero descansar is more natural in everyday speech in this context.

What’s the difference between um pouco and pouco?

They are related but not the same:

um pouco = a little / a bit / some (neutral or slightly positive)
- quero descansar um pouco = I want to rest a little.
pouco (without um) often means “little / not much” and can sound insufficient or negative:
- Eu descanso pouco. = I don’t rest much / I rest little.

So um pouco is usually what you want for “a little / a bit.”

Could I say Eu quero um pouco descansar agora?

No, that word order is incorrect in Portuguese.

Correct: Eu quero descansar um pouco agora.
Also correct: Eu quero descansar agora um pouco. (less common, but possible)

Um pouco must stay together as a unit, and it normally follows the verb or the object, not between “to” and the verb. Think of descansar um pouco as “to rest a little” as one chunk.

Is descansar ever reflexive, like se descansar?

No, descansar is normally not reflexive in Portuguese. You just say:

Vou descansar. = I’m going to rest.
Eles precisam descansar. = They need to rest.

You wouldn’t say se descansar the way Spanish uses descansarse. In Portuguese, that sounds wrong in this meaning.

Is the verb tense in quero really present, even though in English we might say “I’d like to rest a little now”?

Yes, quero is present tense, but it often covers meanings that English expresses with “would like to” or “I’d like to.”

Eu quero descansar um pouco agora.
- Literally: I want to rest a little now.
- Pragmatically, in many situations: I’d like to rest a little now.

Portuguese doesn’t need a special conditional form here to sound polite; tone of voice and context handle politeness.

How could I make this sentence more polite or softer in Brazilian Portuguese?

Several options, all natural:

Eu queria descansar um pouco agora.
- Literally: I wanted to rest a little now → used as “I’d like to rest a little now.”
Eu gostaria de descansar um pouco agora.
- Very polite: “I would like to rest a little now.”

Queria and gostaria de are common ways to sound softer or more polite than plain quero.

Can agora go somewhere else in the sentence?

Yes. The most common positions are:

Eu quero descansar um pouco agora. (very natural)
Agora eu quero descansar um pouco. (emphasis on now: “Now I want to rest…”)

Placing agora right after descansar um pouco is standard, but moving it to the beginning to stress now is also very common.

What’s the difference between agora and já in a similar sentence?

Both can relate to time, but:

agora = now (neutral “at this moment”)
- Eu quero descansar um pouco agora. = I want to rest a little now.
já can mean already, now, or right away, depending on context and tone.
- Eu quero descansar um pouco já. → sounds like “I want to rest a little right now / immediately.”

So agora is safer and more neutral; já often adds urgency or immediacy.

How do you pronounce Eu quero descansar um pouco agora in Brazilian Portuguese?

Approximate IPA for a common Brazilian accent (e.g., São Paulo / Rio):

Eu quero descansar um pouco agora
- /ew ˈkɛ.ɾu dʒis.kɐ̃ˈsaɾ ũw̃ ˈpow.ku aˈɡɔ.ɾa/

Notes:

Eu is like “eh-oo” blended: /ew/
quero: que like “keh”, not “kwee”
descansar: the s between vowels often sounds like z or s, and r at the end is often a soft h or weak r, depending on region.
um and pouco often flow together: um pouco = /ũw̃ ˈpow.ku/
agora has the stress on GO: a-GO-ra.

Could I say Eu vou descansar um pouco agora instead of Eu quero descansar um pouco agora?

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly:

Eu quero descansar um pouco agora.
- Focus on desire: I want to rest a little now.
Eu vou descansar um pouco agora.
- Focus on decision / plan: I’m going to rest a little now.

Both are natural; choose depending on whether you’re emphasizing wanting vs. intending/deciding.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral in Brazilian Portuguese?

Eu quero descansar um pouco agora. is neutral.

It’s fine with friends, family, and coworkers.
It’s also acceptable in many semi-formal situations.
For very formal or extra-polite contexts, you might prefer:
- Eu gostaria de descansar um pouco agora.
- Eu queria descansar um pouco agora. (polite/soft in tone)