Breakdown of À tarde, eu prefiro estudar português na biblioteca.
Questions & Answers about À tarde, eu prefiro estudar português na biblioteca.
À tarde is a very common time expression in Portuguese meaning in the afternoon. Portuguese often puts time expressions at the beginning of a sentence, just like English can do with phrases like In the afternoon, ....
It could also appear later in the sentence, for example: Eu prefiro estudar português na biblioteca à tarde.
Both are natural.
The à has a grave accent. In this expression, it shows a contraction called crase: historically, it comes from a + a.
In practice, for learners, the important thing is this:
- à tarde
- à noite
- às vezes
These are standard forms you should learn as fixed expressions.
Also, this accent is not the same as the acute accent in words like português.
The comma is used because À tarde has been moved to the front as an introductory time phrase.
Compare:
- À tarde, eu prefiro estudar português na biblioteca.
- Eu prefiro estudar português na biblioteca à tarde.
The first version often uses a comma; the second usually does not need one.