Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): A folha cai devagar da árvore.

In Portuguese, countable singular nouns normally need a definite or indefinite article. Saying Folha cai devagar da árvore sounds ungrammatical or poetic—listeners expect A folha (the leaf) or Uma folha (a leaf). The article signals that you’re talking about a particular leaf (or leaves in general, as a class) rather than treating folha as an abstract concept.

Could we replace a folha with uma folha? How would that change the nuance?

Yes.

A folha cai devagar da árvore → “The leaf…” (specific or generic reference)
Uma folha cai devagar da árvore → “A leaf…” (introducing one random, unspecified leaf).
Using uma makes the leaf indefinite (“some leaf falls…”), whereas a often feels more definite or generic.

Why is the subject pronoun omitted? Could we say Ela cai devagar da árvore?

Portuguese conjugates verbs so that the ending -i in cai already tells you it’s third-person singular. Subject pronouns (ele/ela) are typically dropped unless needed for emphasis or clarity. You can say Ela cai devagar da árvore, but it’s redundant unless you want to stress “she/it” (for instance, contrasting with something else).

What tense and mood is cai, and why isn’t it está caindo (present continuous)?

Cai is the present indicative, third person singular, of cair. European Portuguese often uses the simple present for ongoing actions (especially in narration or commentary), rather than the continuous está caindo. Both are correct: • A folha cai… (neutral, simple present)
• A folha está caindo… (present continuous, emphasizing it is in the process right now)

Why is the adverb devagar placed after cai? Could I put it elsewhere?

Adverbs of manner (like devagar) normally follow the verb in Portuguese: verbo + advérbio. So cai devagar is the default. You can move it for style or emphasis: • Devagar, a folha cai da árvore. (higher emphasis on “slowly”)
• A folha cai da árvore devagar. (less common, may sound slightly awkward)

Why do we say da árvore instead of de a árvore? What’s da doing here?

In Portuguese, the preposition de (of / from) contracts with the feminine singular definite article a to form da: • de + a árvore → da árvore
If it were masculine (o carro), you’d get do carro (de + o).

Could we use lentamente instead of devagar? Are they interchangeable?

Both mean “slowly,” but: • devagar is more colloquial and directly related to devagar = “slow.”
• lentamente is a Latinate adverb (from lento), slightly more formal.
In everyday speech, devagar is more common; in writing or formal contexts, lentamente may appear.

Why does árvore have an acute accent on á? How does it affect pronunciation?

The acute accent on á marks two things:

The vowel quality: it’s an open /a/ sound, not a muted schwa-like sound.
The stress: it shows that the first syllable ÁR is stressed (ÁR-vo-re).
Without the accent, the default stress rules would place stress on the second-to-last syllable, which would be ar-VO-re, and that would be incorrect.

How do you pronounce folha, cai, devagar and árvore? Any tricky sounds?

A rough guide in European Portuguese:

folha → “FO-lya” ([ˈfɔ.ʎɐ]) – lh is a palatal lateral sound, like the “lli” in million.
cai → “kai” ([kaj]) – a diphthong, similar to English “kai.”
devagar → “də-va-GAR” ([dɨ.vɐˈɡaɾ]) – the final r in Portugal is often a soft “r” or slight friction sound.
árvore → “AR-vo-re” ([ˈaɾ.βo.ɾɨ]) – stress on the first syllable; the r in the middle is tapped or a soft fricative.