Eu estudo português oito minutos todas as manhãs.

I study Portuguese for eight minutes every morning.

Breakdown of Eu estudo português oito minutos todas as manhãs.

• eu: I
• português: Portuguese
• estudar: to study
• todas as manhãs: every morning
• o minuto: the minute
• oito: eight

Questions & Answers about Eu estudo português oito minutos todas as manhãs.

Why is it Eu estudo português and not just Estudo português? Do I always need the subject eu?

In Brazilian Portuguese you do not always need the subject pronoun.

• Eu estudo português. = I study Portuguese.
• Estudo português. = I study Portuguese. (subject is understood from the verb ending)

The -o ending in estudo already tells you the subject is eu (I).

Using or omitting "eu":

• With eu: slightly more emphasis or clarity on “I”.
• Without eu: very natural in everyday speech, especially when context is clear.

So both Eu estudo português oito minutos todas as manhãs. and Estudo português oito minutos todas as manhãs. are correct.

Why is português not capitalized, while in English Portuguese is?

In Portuguese, names of languages are not capitalized (unless at the start of a sentence):

• Eu estudo português.
• Ela fala inglês e espanhol.

This is different from English, where Portuguese, English, Spanish are capitalized.

So português is lowercase here simply because that’s the normal rule in Portuguese.

Why is it oito minutos and not por oito minutos for “for eight minutes”?

In Portuguese, expressing duration can be done in two main ways:

1. Without a preposition (very common):

   • Eu estudo português oito minutos. = I study Portuguese for eight minutes.
   • Eu dormi três horas. = I slept for three hours.

2. With a preposition (also correct, often a bit more explicit):

   • Eu estudo português por oito minutos.
   • Eu dormi por três horas.

Both Eu estudo português oito minutos and Eu estudo português por oito minutos are grammatically correct. Native speakers very often omit por when the meaning is clear, especially with simple durations like this.

Why is manhãs in the plural (manhãs) and not singular (manhã)?

The expression todas as manhãs literally means “all the mornings”, which corresponds to English “every morning”.

• manhã = morning
• manhãs = mornings
• todas = all / every (feminine plural)
• as = the (feminine plural definite article)

Because we’re talking about a repeated action that happens on many mornings, Portuguese uses the plural: manhãs.

Compare:

• Eu estudo português todas as manhãs. = I study Portuguese every morning.
• Eu estudo português esta manhã. = I study Portuguese this morning. (single morning)

Why do we say todas as manhãs and not todo manhã or toda manhã?

There are actually two common ways to say “every morning”:

1. todas as manhãs

   • Literally: all the mornings
   • Very common and very natural.

2. toda manhã

   • Literally: each/every morning
   • Also common and correct.

So you could say:

• Eu estudo português todas as manhãs.
• Eu estudo português toda manhã.

Both mean “I study Portuguese every morning.”

But:

• todo manhã is wrong because manhã is feminine, so it needs toda, not todo.
• If you use the plural manhãs, you must also use plural todas as:
  • todas as manhãs ✅
  • toda as manhãs ❌
  • todos as manhãs ❌

Why is it todas as manhãs and not todos os manhãs?

Agreement in Portuguese is very strict:

• manhã is feminine → a manhã (the morning)
• plural → as manhãs (the mornings)

So the words that go with it must also be feminine plural:

• todas (feminine plural)
• as (feminine plural)
• manhãs (feminine plural)

Therefore:

• todas as manhãs ✅
• todos os manhãs ❌ (todos/os are masculine plural, but manhãs is feminine plural)

Can I say todas as manhã without s, or is that wrong?

That would be wrong. You must keep everything consistent:

• Singular: toda a manhã = the whole morning / all morning
• Plural: todas as manhãs = every morning / all the mornings

You cannot mix singular/plural:

• toda as manhãs ❌
• todas a manhã ❌

Does Eu estudo português oito minutos todas as manhãs. sound natural to Brazilians? Would they really say “eight minutes”?

Grammatically it’s correct, but in everyday life it sounds a bit unusual or funny because 8 minutes is a very short time to study. A Brazilian might say that jokingly or in a very specific context (e.g. “I use a 8‑minute app lesson”).

More natural durations in speech would be:

• Eu estudo português meia hora todas as manhãs. (half an hour)
• Eu estudo português vinte minutos todas as manhãs. (20 minutes)
• Eu estudo português uma hora todas as manhãs. (an hour)

So the sentence is perfectly correct, just a bit odd in terms of real‑world habit.

Could I move oito minutos or todas as manhãs to another place in the sentence?

Yes. Portuguese word order is relatively flexible for time expressions. All of these are correct:

• Eu estudo português oito minutos todas as manhãs.
• Eu estudo português todas as manhãs por oito minutos.
• Todas as manhãs, eu estudo português oito minutos.
• Todas as manhãs eu estudo português por oito minutos.
• Eu, todas as manhãs, estudo português oito minutos. (more marked/emphatic)

Most neutral and common would be something like:

• Eu estudo português todas as manhãs por oito minutos.
• Todas as manhãs eu estudo português por oito minutos.

Why is it estudo and not estuda or estudam?

The verb estudar (to study) in the present tense:

• eu estudo – I study
• você/ele/ela estuda – you / he / she studies
• nós estudamos – we study
• vocês/eles/elas estudam – you (pl.) / they study

Because the subject is eu (I), the correct form is estudo. If it were “he/she studies Portuguese…”, you’d say:

• Ele estuda português oito minutos todas as manhãs.
• Ela estuda português oito minutos todas as manhãs.

Can this sentence mean “I am studying Portuguese for eight minutes every morning” (present continuous), or only “I study Portuguese…” (simple present, habit)?

In Portuguese, the simple present is normally used for habits and routines, like English simple present:

• Eu estudo português oito minutos todas as manhãs.
  → I study Portuguese for eight minutes every morning.

If you want to emphasize an action happening right now, you usually use estar + gerúndio:

• Eu estou estudando português. = I am studying Portuguese (right now).

But for routines like this one, Eu estudo português… is exactly what you want. It does not mean “I’m currently in the middle of an 8‑minute session”; it describes your regular habit.

Could I say de manhã instead of todas as manhãs?

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly:

• de manhã = in the morning / in the mornings (more general)
• todas as manhãs = every morning (emphasizes that it happens every single morning)

Examples:

• Eu estudo português de manhã.
  → I study Portuguese in the morning (maybe not every single day, just generally in the mornings).

• Eu estudo português todas as manhãs.
  → I study Portuguese every morning (clear idea of daily routine).

How do you pronounce português and what does the accent mark do?

português is roughly pronounced:

• por – like “pohr”
• tu – like “too”
• guês – like “gays” (with a closed “ê” sound)

The acute accent ´ on ê shows:

1. The stress is on that syllable: por-tu-GUÊS.
2. The vowel is a closed “e” sound /e/, not an open “é” /ɛ/.

Without the accent, you wouldn’t know which syllable is stressed, and it would break the normal spelling rules. So português must have the accent.

Could I say Eu estudo o português instead of Eu estudo português?

Yes, but the nuance changes a bit:

• Eu estudo português.
  → I study Portuguese (the language in general; this is the most common, neutral form).

• Eu estudo o português.
  → I study (the) Portuguese (language) – this can sound slightly more formal or specific, like a subject or field of study.

In everyday speech about learning the language, people usually drop the article:

• Eu estudo português. (most natural)

Is there any difference between Eu estudo português oito minutos todas as manhãs. and Eu estudo português por oito minutos todas as manhãs. in meaning?

The meaning is essentially the same: you study Portuguese for eight minutes every morning.

• Without por (oito minutos):

  • Very normal, direct, especially in speech.

• With por (por oito minutos):

  • Slightly more explicit about the idea of duration, and sometimes feels a bit more formal or careful.

Both are correct and understood the same way; it’s mostly a stylistic choice.