Estou com dor na garganta desde ontem à noite.

I’ve had a sore throat since last night.

Breakdown of Estou com dor na garganta desde ontem à noite.

• eu: I
• estar: to be
• na: in the
• com dor: in pain
• a garganta: the throat
• desde: since
• ontem à noite: last night

Questions & Answers about Estou com dor na garganta desde ontem à noite.

Why does Portuguese use estou com for feeling sick/in pain instead of a verb like to have?

In Brazilian Portuguese, a very common way to describe temporary physical states is estar com + noun (literally “to be with”):

• Estou com dor = I’m in pain / I have pain
• Estou com febre = I have a fever
• Estou com gripe = I have the flu
  It emphasizes a current, temporary condition, which is why estar fits well here.

What exactly does dor na garganta mean, and can I also say dor de garganta?

Dor na garganta is literally “pain in the throat,” i.e., a sore throat.
You may also hear dor de garganta (“throat pain/sore throat”). Both are used in Brazil; dor de garganta can sound slightly more “set phrase,” while dor na garganta feels a bit more literal/physical-location focused. In everyday speech, either is acceptable.

Why is it na garganta and not em garganta?

na is a contraction: em + a = na.
Portuguese usually uses an article with body parts, so a garganta (“the throat”) is normal.
So: dor em a garganta → dor na garganta.

Why is garganta feminine?

Grammatical gender in Portuguese is largely lexical (you learn it with the word). Garganta is feminine, so it takes feminine articles and contractions: a garganta, na garganta.
(Helpful clue: many words ending in -a are feminine, though there are exceptions.)

What does desde mean here, and how is it different from por?

desde means “since” and marks a starting point in time that continues up to now:

• desde ontem à noite = since last night (and still true now)

por is often used for duration (“for”) without highlighting a specific starting point:

• Estou com dor na garganta por dois dias = I’ve had a sore throat for two days.

Why is there an accent in à noite?

à is the contraction of a + a (preposition a + the feminine article a), and it takes a grave accent: à.
In time expressions, Portuguese often uses this:

• à noite = at night / in the evening
• à tarde = in the afternoon
• às 8 = at 8 o’clock (a + as = às)

Does ontem à noite mean “last night” or “yesterday night”?

In natural English you’d usually say “last night,” but Portuguese commonly says ontem à noite (“yesterday at night/evening”) to refer to the night that belonged to “yesterday.” It’s a normal, idiomatic way to say “last night.”

Why is the subject eu not written?

Portuguese often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person. Estou clearly indicates eu (I).
You can say Eu estou com dor..., but it can sound more emphatic or contrastive (“I am, but someone else isn’t”).

Could I use tenho instead: Tenho dor na garganta?

You can hear tenho dor na garganta, and it’s understandable, but estou com dor na garganta is usually the most natural everyday phrasing in Brazil for a temporary symptom. Tenho can sound a bit more “I possess/have” or slightly more formal/clinical depending on context.

Is the word order fixed? Can I move desde ontem à noite?

It’s flexible. desde ontem à noite can appear at the end (most common) or earlier for emphasis:

• Estou com dor na garganta desde ontem à noite. (neutral)
• Desde ontem à noite, estou com dor na garganta. (emphasis on when it started)

How would Brazilians commonly shorten this in conversation?

Very commonly:

• Tô com dor de garganta desde ontem à noite.
  Here tô = informal spoken contraction of estou. Also, dor de garganta is a frequent everyday variant.

Any pronunciation pitfalls in this sentence?

A few common ones for English speakers:

• estou: often sounds like is-TOU (with a clear final u sound).
• dor: the r at the end is typically like an English h in many Brazilian accents: doh.
• garganta: stressed on -gan-: gar-GAN-ta.
• desde: usually DEZ-dji (the d before e can sound like dj in many accents).