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Questions & Answers about Eu ouço música clássica.
What does ouço mean?
ouço is the first-person singular present indicative form of the verb ouvir, which means to hear or to listen to. In this sentence, it translates as I listen to (or I hear).
Why is eu used here if Portuguese often drops subject pronouns?
Portuguese is a pro-drop language, so the subject pronoun (eu) is usually optional because the verb ending already indicates the subject. Including eu adds emphasis or clarity, but you can simply say Ouço música clássica without changing the meaning.
What’s the difference between ouvir and escutar?
Both verbs relate to listening, but with a nuance:
- ouvir can mean passively hearing sounds or actively listening.
- escutar implies actively paying attention or focusing on what you hear. In casual speech, they’re often interchangeable, but escutar leans more toward “listen carefully.”
Why is it música clássica and not clássica música?
In Portuguese, most descriptive adjectives follow the noun. So you say música (noun) then clássica (adjective). Reversing the order would sound strange to a native speaker.
Should I use an article before música clássica (e.g., a música clássica)?
You can:
- Ouço música clássica (general statement, most common)
- Ouço a música clássica (slightly more specific, as if referring to the style as a known category) Both are correct, but dropping the article is more natural when speaking about genres in general.
Why use the simple present ouço instead of a continuous form like estou ouvindo?
In European Portuguese, the simple present often expresses both habitual and ongoing actions. If you want to emphasize “right now,” you can use the periphrastic form estou a ouvir música clássica. The gerund form estou ouvindo is typical of Brazilian Portuguese but less common in Portugal.
How do you pronounce ouço?
In European Portuguese, ouço is pronounced roughly /ˈow.su/. The ou sounds like the “ow” in low, and ç gives an “s” sound. So it’s like “OW-soo.”
Why is música feminine and how do adjectives agree?
Most Portuguese nouns ending in -a are feminine, so música is feminine. Adjectives must agree in gender and number, hence clássica (feminine singular) rather than clássico (masculine) or clássicas (feminine plural).
Where is the stress in clássica, and why is there an accent?
The stress falls on the first syllable: CLÁS-si-ca. The acute accent on á marks that stressed vowel and shows it’s open (a sound like the “a” in father).
Could I say Eu escuto música clássica instead?
Yes. Eu escuto música clássica is perfectly correct and common. You’re simply choosing escutar instead of ouvir, with the slight nuance that you’re focusing on actively listening.