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Gosto de praticar natação de manhã.

Gosto de praticar natação de manhã.
I like swimming in the morning.
FromLesson 31inHardcore Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Gosto de praticar natação de manhã.

Why is de necessary in gosto de praticar?
The verb gostar always takes the preposition de before either a noun or an infinitive verb. So you must say gosto de praticar, not gosto praticar.
Why isn’t the subject eu included?
Portuguese is a pro-drop (null-subject) language. The ending –o in gosto already tells you it’s “I like,” so you can omit eu.
What’s the difference between praticar natação and nadar?
Nadar is the verb “to swim.” Natação is the noun “swimming” (the sport). Praticar natação means “to practice/train in swimming,” while nadar simply means “to swim” (e.g. go for a swim).
Could I say gosto de nadar de manhã instead?
Yes—gosto de nadar de manhã is grammatically correct. It just sounds more like “I like swimming in the morning” without the training nuance that praticar natação carries.
What does de manhã mean, and why not na manhã?
De manhã means “in the morning” when talking about a habitual or general time of day. Use na manhã (“in the morning” with em + a) only if you specify a particular morning, e.g. na manhã de segunda-feira (“on Monday morning”).
Can I use pela manhã instead of de manhã?
Yes. Pela manhã (from por + a manhã) also means “during the morning.” It’s largely interchangeable with de manhã, though de manhã is more common for simple routines.
Can I move de manhã to the beginning of the sentence?
Absolutely. You can say De manhã, gosto de praticar natação. Portuguese word order is flexible, and fronting the time phrase just shifts the emphasis to when you do it.
What does the tilde (~) in natação indicate?
The tilde over ã marks nasalisation. You pronounce natação roughly [na-ta-SÁ-ũ], with a nasal “ão” and the stress on that final syllable.
Why is gosto in the present tense? Could I use another tense?
The present tense gosto expresses a habitual liking (“I like [to do that regularly]”). For a current action you could use the continuous (estou a gostar in Portugal), and for past routines use the imperfect (gostava de praticar natação).
What’s the difference between gosto de praticar natação and gostaria de praticar natação?
Gosto de praticar natação means “I like practicing swimming” (a fact about you). Gostaria de praticar natação means “I would like to practice swimming” (a polite, conditional way to express desire).
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