Breakdown of Meu avô estuda no jardim.
meu
my
estudar
to study
em
in
o jardim
the garden
o avô
the grandfather
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Questions & Answers about Meu avô estuda no jardim.
Why does avô have a circumflex accent, and what is the difference between avô and avó?
The circumflex in avô marks a stressed, closed o sound and helps distinguish it from avó, which has an open o.
- avô (circumflex) means “grandfather.”
- avó (acute) means “grandmother.”
Without the accent, both words would look the same on paper but sound different and mean different things.
Why is there no definite article o before meu avô, and could I say o meu avô estuda no jardim instead?
In Portuguese you can often include or omit the article before a possessive:
- o meu avô estuda no jardim. (very common in European Portuguese)
- Meu avô estuda no jardim. (also acceptable; more common in Brazilian Portuguese or in informal speech)
Including o is the default in Portugal, but leaving it out is perfectly grammatical. Meaning and conjugation don’t change.
Why is the simple present estuda used instead of a continuous form like está a estudar or está estudando?
Portuguese has two main ways to talk about present actions:
- Simple present (estuda):
- Describes habitual or regular actions (“He studies in the garden” as a routine).
- Present continuous:
- European Portuguese: estar a + infinitive → está a estudar (he is studying now).
- Brazilian Portuguese: estar + gerund → está estudando.
So in Meu avô estuda no jardim, you’re stating a fact or habit. To stress “right now,” an EP speaker would say O meu avô está a estudar no jardim.
How do contractions with em work? Why do we say no jardim instead of em o jardim?
In Portuguese, prepositions often merge with definite articles:
- em + o → no
- em + a → na
- em + os → nos
- em + as → nas
So em o jardim contracts to no jardim. You’ll see the same pattern with de: de + o → do, de + a → da, etc.
Why is jardim masculine? Are there any rules to predict the gender of nouns?
Portuguese noun gender is largely arbitrary, but there are tendencies:
- Nouns ending in –o are usually masculine (o livro, o carro).
- Nouns ending in –a are usually feminine (a casa, a mesa).
However, jardim ends in –im, and many –im nouns are masculine (o fim, o jardim). There are exceptions, so it’s safest to learn each noun with its article.
What exactly does jardim mean? Is it more like a garden or a yard?
Jardim generally refers to a cultivated outdoor space with flowers, plants, paths—what English speakers call a garden. If you want to say backyard or yard (an open play or utility area), Portuguese uses quintal.
- jardim = garden
- quintal = yard/backyard
Why isn’t there a subject pronoun ele before estuda? Can I leave pronouns out in Portuguese?
Portuguese is a pro-drop language, meaning subject pronouns (eu, tu, ele, etc.) can be omitted when the subject is clear from context or a noun phrase. Here, Meu avô already tells you who is doing the action, so ele is unnecessary. You’d add ele only for emphasis or contrast.
Can I change the word order? For example, Estuda meu avô no jardim?
The neutral order in Portuguese is Subject-Verb-Object/Complement (SVO):
- Meu avô (subject) estuda (verb) no jardim (location).
If you front the verb—Estuda meu avô no jardim—it sounds like a question (“Does my grandfather study in the garden?”) or poetic inversion. As a plain statement, stick with SVO for clarity.