Breakdown of Hoje de manhã, o meu relógio parou de funcionar e acordei tarde.
eu
I
hoje
today
meu
my
de
of
a manhã
the morning
e
and
tarde
late
acordar
to wake up
funcionar
to work
parar de
to stop
o relógio
the watch
Questions & Answers about Hoje de manhã, o meu relógio parou de funcionar e acordei tarde.
Why is Hoje de manhã used instead of something like Hoje manhã or just manhã?
Portuguese time expressions require a preposition before parts of the day. You say de manhã (“in the morning”), à tarde (“in the afternoon”) or à noite (“at night”). To specify it’s “today in the morning,” you combine hoje with de manhã: hoje de manhã. Hoje manhã is ungrammatical, and saying just manhã lacks the full time reference.
Can I say esta manhã or hoje pela manhã instead of hoje de manhã? What’s the difference?
Yes, all three can express “this morning.”
- Esta manhã (“this morning”) is slightly more formal and doesn’t use hoje.
- Hoje pela manhã (“today in the morning”) uses pela (por + a) and can imply “throughout the morning,” but in practice it’s interchangeable with hoje de manhã in European Portuguese.
Why do we say o meu relógio instead of just meu relógio?
In European Portuguese, possessive pronouns normally appear with a definite article: o meu, a minha, os meus, as minhas. Omitting the article (saying meu relógio) is more common in Brazilian Portuguese or very informal contexts.
What does parou de funcionar mean, and why is parar de used here?
The verb parar means “to stop.” When you follow it with de + infinitive, it means “to stop doing something.” So parou de funcionar literally means “it stopped functioning,” i.e. “it stopped working.”
Why is funcionar in the infinitive form here?
After verbs like parar, começar, continuar, etc., you always link the next verb with a or de + infinitive. With parar, the structure is fixed as parar de + infinitive. You never conjugate the second verb in this construction.
Is the comma after Hoje de manhã required?
No, the comma is optional. Commas often set off introductory adverbial phrases for clarity (Hoje de manhã, ...), but omitting it doesn’t make the sentence wrong.
Why are parou and acordei conjugated in the simple past (pretérito perfeito simples)?
The pretérito perfeito simples (parou, acordei) expresses completed actions in the past, equivalent to the English simple past (“stopped,” “woke up”). The imperfect (pretérito imperfeito) would indicate habitual or ongoing past actions (e.g., parava, acordava), which isn’t intended here.
Why is it acordei tarde and not me acordei tarde or acordei-me tarde?
The verb acordar (“to wake up”) can be used intransitively without a reflexive pronoun: acordei tarde means “I woke up late.” You can also say acordei‑me tarde (enclitic form) in European Portuguese for a slightly more formal tone. Me acordei tarde (proclisis) is typical of Brazilian colloquial speech.
Could I use levantei‑me tarde instead of acordei tarde? What’s the nuance between acordar and levantar‑se?
Yes, but they refer to different moments:
- Acordar = “to wake up” (stop sleeping)
- Levantar‑se = “to get up” (leave the bed)
You might acordar cedo (“wake up early”) but levantar‑se tarde (“get up late”). In casual speech they often overlap, though.
How do you pronounce relógio, especially the letter g before i and the accent on ó?
In European Portuguese:
- g before i is pronounced [ʒ], like the “s” in “measure.”
- The acute accent on ó marks stress and an open [ɔ] sound.
So relógio is pronounced /ʁɨˈlɔʒu/, with the stress on the -LÓ- syllable.
More from this lesson
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“What's the best way to learn Portuguese grammar?”
Portuguese grammar becomes intuitive with practice. Focus on understanding the core patterns first — how sentences are structured, how verbs change form, and how words relate to each other. Our course breaks these concepts into small lessons so you can build understanding step by step.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning PortugueseMaster Portuguese — from Hoje de manhã, o meu relógio parou de funcionar e acordei tarde to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.
- ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions