Breakdown of Eu costumo ouvir música à noite.
eu
I
a noite
the night
ouvir
to listen
a música
the music
costumar
to tend to
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Questions & Answers about Eu costumo ouvir música à noite.
What does costumo mean in this sentence?
Costumo is the first person singular present tense form of the verb costumar, which means “to be in the habit of” or “usually do.” In this sentence, it indicates that the speaker habitually listens to music at night.
Why is the verb ouvir in its infinitive form after costumo?
In Portuguese, when you use a verb like costumar to express a habit, the following verb remains in the infinitive form. This structure shows that the action of listening is a habitual activity without needing further conjugation.
What does the phrase à noite mean, and why is it written with a contraction?
À noite translates to “at night.” The contraction à comes from combining the preposition a with the feminine definite article a (from a noite). This is a standard way to indicate time expressions in European Portuguese.
Why is there no article before música in the sentence?
In Portuguese, when referring to music in a general sense—as in “listening to music”—an article is not required. This is similar to English, where we say “listen to music” instead of “listen to the music.”
Could the sentence be expressed differently, such as using a conjugated form instead of costumo ouvir? What would the difference be?
Yes, you could say Eu ouço música à noite using the simple present tense. However, costumo ouvir specifically emphasizes that listening to music is a regular habit, whereas ouço might simply state a fact without conveying the habitual aspect.
Is it necessary to include the subject pronoun Eu in this sentence?
No, it’s not strictly necessary. In Portuguese, the verb conjugations generally indicate the subject, so the pronoun Eu (meaning “I”) can be omitted unless you want to add emphasis or clarity.