A is the feminine singular definite article, meaning the.
The noun interrupção is feminine, so it takes a:
In Portuguese, nouns have grammatical gender, so the article has to match the noun.
Because adjectives must agree with the noun they describe.
Here, programada describes interrupção, which is:
So the adjective must also be feminine singular:
Compare:
Not always literally. In this kind of sentence, programada usually means scheduled or planned.
So:
Portuguese often uses programado/programada in places where English would naturally say scheduled.
In Portuguese, adjectives often come after the noun.
So:
is the normal order.
English often puts adjectives before the noun:
Portuguese can sometimes place adjectives before the noun, but after the noun is very common and usually the neutral/default choice.
Termina is the 3rd person singular present form of terminar.
The subject is A interrupção programada, which is singular, so the verb must also be singular:
This present tense is often used in Portuguese for scheduled events, just like in English:
Because às is a contraction of:
When telling time, Portuguese uses a/as before the hour:
In às dez, the word horas is understood:
Because the full idea is really:
Portuguese often leaves out horas when it is obvious. Even when horas is omitted, the contraction stays:
So às is still there because the structure is based on as horas.
Yes. That is completely correct.
Both are natural:
Leaving out horas is very common in everyday Portuguese when the meaning is clear.
Yes, often you can.
Both can mean that the interruption ends at ten.
In many contexts, terminar and acabar are very close in meaning. Sometimes one may sound slightly more formal or more natural depending on the situation, but both are common.
Yes. Portuguese often uses the present tense for timetables, schedules, and fixed future events.
So termina is grammatically present, but it can refer to a future scheduled time:
This is very normal in both Portuguese and English.
The accent in às marks the contraction and distinguishes it from other forms.
So in this sentence, às dez means at ten.
The accent is important in writing.
A rough guide for a native English speaker is something like:
A few important points:
European Portuguese pronunciation is often more reduced than Brazilian Portuguese, especially in unstressed vowels, so the beginning may sound less clearly like full i-e-u syllables than you might expect from the spelling.
Normally, you should keep the article:
Leaving it out would usually sound unnatural in standard Portuguese unless you were writing a headline, label, or some kind of notice style.
So for ordinary sentences, use the article.
The given word order is the most natural neutral one:
Portuguese does allow some flexibility, but changing the order usually changes the emphasis or sounds less neutral.
For a learner, the safest pattern is:
So this sentence is a very good standard model to follow.