Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): No domingo fazemos um piquenique no relvado do parque. - On Sunday we’re having a picnic on the park lawn.

Portuguese often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending shows the person. Fazemos ends in -mos (1st person plural), so it already means “we.” You can add Nós for emphasis: No domingo nós fazemos…. Note that informal a gente takes 3rd person singular: A gente faz….

Does No domingo mean one specific Sunday or Sundays in general?

It normally refers to one specific Sunday (often the upcoming one from context). For a habitual action (“on Sundays”), use ao domingo or aos domingos: for example, Ao domingo, vou ao mercado (“On Sundays, I go to the market”).

How do I say “this Sunday,” “next Sunday,” and “last Sunday”?

This Sunday: neste domingo (many speakers also just say no domingo if context is clear)
Next Sunday: no próximo domingo (also no domingo que vem, more colloquial)
Last Sunday: no domingo passado

What are no and do exactly?

They’re contractions:

em + o = no, em + a = na, em + os = nos, em + as = nas
de + o = do, de + a = da, de + os = dos, de + as = das So no domingo = “on Sunday,” do parque = “of the park.”

Why no relvado and not na relvado?

Because relvado is masculine (o relvado), so em + o = no. If you used the feminine relva (“grass”), you’d say na relva.

What’s the difference between relvado and relva? What would Brazilians say?

relvado (PT): a lawn, a maintained grassy area.
relva (PT): grass in general; na relva = “on the grass.”
In Brazil, the usual word for “lawn” is gramado.

Why use fazer with piquenique? Could I use ter or tomar?

The idiomatic collocation is fazer um piquenique (“to have a picnic”). Portuguese often uses fazer for events/activities: fazer uma festa (have a party), fazer uma pausa (take a break). Ter or tomar don’t sound natural here.

Is piquenique masculine or feminine? Why um and not uma?

Piquenique is masculine: o piquenique, hence um piquenique. Many nouns ending in -e are masculine, but gender must often be learned case by case.

Can I drop the article and say fazer piquenique?

You’ll hear fazer piquenique in informal speech, but in European Portuguese fazer um piquenique is the most natural, neutral choice in full sentences.

Why not em domingo? Do days of the week usually take the article?

With days of the week, Portuguese normally uses em + definite article: no domingo, na segunda(-feira), etc. Without the article it sounds unidiomatic. For habitual meaning, use ao/à: ao domingo, à segunda.

Why is the present fazemos used for a future plan? How does it compare to vamos fazer or faremos?

Portuguese often uses the present for near-future plans/schedules: No domingo fazemos…. Vamos fazer also expresses a near-future plan and is very common. Faremos (synthetic future) is correct but is more formal/literary and less frequent in everyday speech.

Can I change the word order?

Yes. Time expressions often come first, but other orders work:

Fazemos um piquenique no relvado do parque no domingo.
No relvado do parque, no domingo, fazemos um piquenique. Word order can shift focus, but all are grammatical.

How do you pronounce the tricky bits (European Portuguese)?

no ≈ “noo”
domingo ≈ “doo-MEEN-go”
fazemos ≈ “fa-ZE-mush”; before a vowel it links: fazemos um ≈ “fa-ZE-mo-zum”
piquenique ≈ “pee-keh-NEE-ke”
relvado: initial r is guttural: “hehl-VAH-doo”
parque: tapped r: “PAR-ke” These are approximations; local accents vary.

Why do parque and not just no parque?

Do parque (de + o) means “of the park,” so no relvado do parque is “on the park’s lawn.” If you only want “in the park,” say no parque.

How do I make it negative? Does no ever mean “no/not”?

Put não before the verb: No domingo não fazemos um piquenique…. Note the difference: no = “in/on the” (em + o); não (with tilde) = “no/not.”