A pista passa pelo parque.

In Portuguese, pista can mean several things depending on context: a track, trail, path, runway, or even a clue.

In this sentence, it usually means something like a track or path. The exact English word depends on the context you were given.

It is a feminine singular noun, which is why it appears as a pista.

Passa is the 3rd person singular of the verb passar in the present tense.

So:

• eu passo = I pass
• tu passas = you pass
• ele/ela/você passa = he/she/you passes

Here, passa agrees with a pista, which is a singular noun.

In sentences like this, passar por often means:

• to pass through
• to go through
• to pass by
• to run through / go via

The exact natural English choice depends on context.

Because in Portuguese, por + o contracts to pelo.

So:

• por + o = pelo
• por + a = pela
• por + os = pelos
• por + as = pelas

That means:

• pelo parque = through/by/via the park

This kind of contraction is very common in Portuguese and is something learners need to get used to.

Because grammatical gender in Portuguese does not always depend on the final letter.

Parque is a masculine noun, so it takes:

• o parque
• um parque

Even though many masculine nouns end in -o, and many feminine nouns end in -a, there are plenty of exceptions. Gender has to be learned with the noun.

It can mean either, depending on context.

The expression passar por is flexible. It can suggest:

• movement through a place
• movement by a place
• a route that goes via a place

So A pista passa pelo parque could mean that the track:

• goes through the park, or
• passes by the park, or
• runs via the park

Usually the wider context tells you which is meant.

Portuguese uses definite articles much more often than English does.

So where English might say:

• The track passes through the park

Portuguese naturally says:

• A pista passa pelo parque

Using the article before the subject noun is very normal. In many cases, leaving it out would sound unnatural or would change the meaning.

Yes. This is a very standard Portuguese sentence structure:

A pista + passa + pelo parque
subject + verb + prepositional phrase

So it is a straightforward sentence:

• A pista = the subject
• passa = the verb
• pelo parque = where the route goes

This is the most neutral and natural word order.

No. In standard Portuguese, that sounds wrong because por o must contract to pelo.

So:

• correct: A pista passa pelo parque
• not correct: A pista passa por o parque

These contractions are not optional in normal standard usage.

They are built from different prepositions and mean different things.

• pelo = por + o
• no = em + o

So:

• passa pelo parque = it passes through/by/via the park
• está no parque = it is in the park

A good basic contrast is:

• por often suggests movement along a route
• em often suggests location in a place

A careful European Portuguese pronunciation is approximately:

A pista passa pelo parque
IPA: [ɐ ˈpiʃ.tɐ ˈpa.sɐ ˈpe.lu ˈpaɾ.kɨ]

A few useful notes for Portugal Portuguese:

• pista sounds roughly like PEESH-tuh
• passa sounds roughly like PAH-suh
• pelo sounds roughly like PEH-loo
• parque ends with a reduced vowel, something like PARK(uh)

In connected European Portuguese speech, unstressed vowels are often reduced more than in Brazilian Portuguese.

Yes, the sentence is grammatically correct in Brazilian Portuguese too.

The main differences would be in:

• pronunciation
• some possible vocabulary preferences depending on context

But A pista passa pelo parque is a normal sentence in both varieties.

Yes. Pista is a flexible word.

Depending on context, it can mean:

• a track
• a sports track
• a runway
• a ski slope
• a dance floor in some contexts
• a clue

So if you see pista in another sentence, do not assume it always means path. Context matters a lot.