A Maria está a estudar de manhã e a ler à noite.

In European Portuguese, it is very common to put the definite article before a person's first name, especially in everyday speech.

So A Maria simply means Maria, not the Maria in the odd English sense.

A few notes:

• A is used because Maria is feminine.
• With a male name, you would often get o: O João.
• In very formal writing, or in some contexts, the article may be omitted.
• When speaking directly to the person, the article is normally not used: Maria, anda cá.

So here, A Maria is completely natural in Portugal.

It is the European Portuguese way of forming the present continuous / progressive:

estar + a + infinitive

So:

• está a estudar = is studying
• está a ler = is reading

This is the standard pattern in Portugal.

A useful comparison:

• European Portuguese: está a estudar
• Brazilian Portuguese: está estudando

Both mean the same thing, but the structure is different.

That a is part of the progressive construction estar a + infinitive.

So in:

• está a estudar
• está a ler

the a does not mean to in the usual English sense. It is just the grammatical marker used in this structure.

Think of the whole pattern as one unit:

• estar a estudar
• estar a ler
• estar a trabalhar

It is best learned as a fixed pattern rather than translating the a by itself.

Because Portuguese often avoids repeating the same auxiliary when it applies to both verbs.

So:

• A Maria está a estudar de manhã e a ler à noite.

really means:

• A Maria está a estudar de manhã e está a ler à noite.

The second está is simply left out because it is understood.

This is very common and natural. English does something similar:

• Maria is studying in the morning and reading at night.

We do not need to repeat is there either.

Yes, you could:

• A Maria está a estudar de manhã e está a ler à noite.

This is grammatically correct, but it sounds a bit heavier because of the repetition.

Usually, speakers prefer the shorter version unless they want:

• extra emphasis
• clearer contrast
• a more careful rhythm

So the original sentence is the more natural everyday version.

These are idiomatic time expressions, and they do not all use the same preposition.

The most common set is:

• de manhã = in the morning
• à tarde = in the afternoon
• à noite = at night / in the evening

So this is something you mostly have to learn as a group.

A useful point:

• de manhã is the normal expression for in the morning
• à noite is the normal expression for at night / in the evening in this kind of sentence

Even though the English expressions feel parallel, Portuguese does not build them in exactly the same way.

À is a contraction of:

a + a = à

The grave accent marks that contraction.

So in à noite, you are seeing:

• a preposition a
• plus the feminine article a
• combined into à

Important: this is not the same as the acute accent in á.
The grave accent in à mainly shows contraction, not a different stressed vowel in the way English learners often expect.

You will also see this in other expressions, such as:

• à tarde
• à esquerda
• à porta

Because it uses estar a + infinitive, it usually suggests an ongoing situation, not a simple general fact.

So the sentence most naturally means something like:

• Maria is currently spending the morning studying and the night reading
• this is what she is doing in the present period

If you wanted a simple habitual routine, Portuguese would more naturally use the simple present:

• A Maria estuda de manhã e lê à noite.

So the contrast is roughly:

• está a estudar / está a ler = ongoing, current, temporary, in progress
• estuda / lê = habitual, regular, general

Context can blur the line a little, but that is the basic difference.

Because Portuguese uses estar to form progressive actions.

So:

• está a estudar
• está a ler

are correct.

Ser is not used for this structure.

More broadly:

• ser is often used for identity, classification, permanent characteristics, time, etc.
• estar is often used for states, locations, and ongoing situations

Since studying and reading are actions in progress, estar is the right verb.

Yes, absolutely.

That version is very natural, but it means something slightly different.

Compare:

• A Maria está a estudar de manhã e a ler à noite.
  = Maria is studying in the morning and reading at night; this sounds more tied to the current situation or period.

• A Maria estuda de manhã e lê à noite.
  = Maria studies in the morning and reads at night; this sounds more like a regular habit or routine.

So both are correct. The choice depends on the meaning you want.

Yes. Portuguese allows some flexibility in word order, especially with time expressions.

For example, you could say:

• De manhã, a Maria está a estudar e, à noite, a ler.

This gives a bit more emphasis to the times of day.

But the original order:

• A Maria está a estudar de manhã e a ler à noite.

is very neutral and natural.

So yes, you can move them, but the original sentence is probably the best default pattern for a learner.

In this sentence, a ler is part of the full progressive expression, and the missing part is the repeated está.

So:

• está a estudar ... e a ler ...

really means:

• está a estudar ... e está a ler ...

By itself, a ler is not usually a complete finite verb phrase. It depends on the auxiliary estar being understood from earlier in the sentence.

So it is not an abbreviation in writing, but it is an example of omitted repetition because the grammar is already clear from the first part.