Breakdown of A Maria está a estudar de manhã e a ler à noite.
Maria
Maria
de
of
estar
to be
a manhã
the morning
estudar
to study
e
and
ler
to read
a noite
the night
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Questions & Answers about A Maria está a estudar de manhã e a ler à noite.
Why do I see A Maria instead of just Maria?
In European Portuguese, it’s very common to use the definite article a (or o for masculine names) before a person’s name. This doesn’t change the meaning; it’s more of a stylistic or regional characteristic. So saying A Maria is perfectly normal in Portugal, whereas in Brazil and in some contexts you’d often just hear Maria.
Why does the sentence use está a estudar and está a ler instead of something else?
In European Portuguese, the present continuous (progressive) tense is typically formed with estar + a + infinitive. So you get está a estudar (“is studying”) and está a ler (“is reading”). In Brazilian Portuguese, you might come across está estudando or está lendo, but in Portugal, está a estudar and está a ler are the standard forms.
What is the difference between de manhã and à noite?
They both indicate time periods of the day, but they use different prepositions or contractions:
• de manhã literally translates to “in the morning” (no article needed).
• à noite is a contraction of a + a (the preposition “a” plus the definite article “a”), translating to “at night.” It’s just how these common time expressions are conventionally formed in Portuguese.
Could I say A Maria estuda de manhã e lê à noite instead?
Yes, you could. That sentence would use the simple present tense (estuda, lê) instead of the present continuous. It’s still correct Portuguese, but it slightly changes the nuance. Estuda and lê imply habitual actions, whereas está a estudar and está a ler emphasize actions in progress at or around the current moment.
Is de manhã and à noite the only way to talk about “in the morning” and “at night”?
They’re the most common expressions. However, you might also see variations like pela manhã or à tardinha, especially in more informal or poetic contexts. For everyday speech, de manhã and à noite are your go-to forms.
Why do we say manhã and noite without an article in de manhã but with an article in à noite?
It’s mainly a matter of idiomatic usage in Portuguese. The expression de manhã simply takes the preposition de without an article, while à noite merges the preposition a with the article a → à. It’s similar to how we say “in the morning” and “at night” in English; they just happen to use different prepositions. It’s best to learn these expressions as fixed phrases.
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