Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): O Pedro fica irritado quando o Wi‑Fi falha. - Pedro gets irritated when the Wi‑Fi fails.

In European Portuguese it’s very common to use the definite article before personal names. So o Pedro (masc.), a Maria (fem.). It doesn’t translate into English; it’s just a natural feature of EP. You’ll usually drop the article in direct address (vocative): Pedro, vem cá!, and it’s often omitted in very formal writing or with full names/titles.

Can I omit the article before names here?

Yes, Pedro fica irritado… is also possible. In EP, including the article is the default in everyday speech; omitting it can sound more formal or stylistic. In Brazil, articles before names are much less common.

Why fica and not está?

Ficar + adjective often expresses a change of state (“to get/become”). O Pedro fica irritado = “Pedro gets irritated.” Estar irritado would describe a current state (“is irritated”) without highlighting the cause/change. Here the sentence describes what happens whenever the Wi‑Fi fails, so ficar is the natural choice.

Could I say O Pedro irrita‑se quando o Wi‑Fi falha?

Yes. Irritar‑se also means “to get irritated/annoyed.” Both ficar irritado and irritar‑se are correct. Ficar + adj. is very common and slightly more neutral; irritar‑se focuses more on the process of getting irritated.

Why irritado and not irritada?

Adjectives agree with the subject. Pedro is masculine, so irritado. With a feminine subject: A Maria fica irritada quando o Wi‑Fi falha. For plural: Os alunos ficam irritados… / As alunas ficam irritadas…

What does o before Wi‑Fi mean? Is it a pronoun?

Here o is the masculine singular definite article (“the”). Wi‑Fi is treated as a masculine noun in Portuguese, so o Wi‑Fi. It’s not the object pronoun o (which would attach to a verb, e.g., vê‑o “sees it”).

Is Wi‑Fi masculine by rule?

Not by rule, but by usage: people typically say o Wi‑Fi. If you say a rede Wi‑Fi (“the Wi‑Fi network”), then rede is feminine, so you’d have a: a rede Wi‑Fi caiu.

How do I pronounce the sentence in European Portuguese?

A clear approximation:

O Pedro: “oo PEH-dro”
fica: “FEE-kɐ” (final a is a reduced sound)
irritado: “ee-hee-TAH-doo” (the rr is a guttural h; final o sounds like “oo”)
quando: “KWAHN-doo”
o Wi‑Fi: commonly “uái-fái” (English-like) or sometimes “uí-fi”
falha: “FA-lya” (the lh is like the “lli” in “million”)

Natural rhythm: “oo PEH-dro FEE-kɐ ee-hee-TAH-doo KWAHN-doo oo uái-FÁI FA-lya.”

What does falha mean here?

It’s the 3rd-person singular present of falhar, “to fail/malfunction.” Here: “when the Wi‑Fi fails/goes down.” Common alternatives:

…quando a internet cai (“when the internet drops”)
…quando o Wi‑Fi vai abaixo (“goes down”)
…quando o Wi‑Fi deixa de funcionar (“stops working”)

Why present tense in both clauses?

Portuguese uses the present indicative to express general truths and habitual actions: Quando o Wi‑Fi falha, o Pedro fica irritado = “Whenever the Wi‑Fi fails, Pedro gets irritated.” For a future event, use the future subjunctive in the quando‑clause: Quando o Wi‑Fi falhar, o Pedro vai ficar irritado.

Can I start with the quando clause?

Yes: Quando o Wi‑Fi falha, o Pedro fica irritado. If the quando clause comes first, use a comma. If it comes second (as in the original), no comma is needed.

Is quando the same as sempre que here?

In habitual statements, quando can mean “whenever.” Sempre que (“whenever/every time”) makes the habitual meaning explicit: Sempre que o Wi‑Fi falha, o Pedro fica irritado.

Could I use se instead of quando?

Yes, with a slightly different nuance. Se o Wi‑Fi falha, o Pedro fica irritado = “If the Wi‑Fi fails, Pedro gets irritated.” It frames it as a condition rather than a temporal relation, though in practice the meaning is very close.

Can the subject follow the verb: Quando falha o Wi‑Fi…?

Yes. Quando falha o Wi‑Fi, o Pedro fica irritado is grammatical and sounds a bit more formal or stylistic. The meaning is the same.

What would the sentence look like for a single past event?

O Pedro ficou irritado quando o Wi‑Fi falhou. Here both verbs are in the simple past (pretérito perfeito).

What’s the difference between irritado, chateado, zangado, and aborrecido?

irritado: irritated/annoyed (neutral)
chateado: annoyed/upset (often milder; very common)
zangado: angry/mad (stronger)
aborrecido (EP): bored or annoyed, depending on context; can be ambiguous

Is ficar‑se irritado possible?

No. Ficar‑se means something else (“to settle for/stick to”). Use ficar irritado (no reflexive) or irritar‑se.

Any article/preposition contractions I should know with Wi‑Fi?

With a preposition + article: do Wi‑Fi (de + o), no Wi‑Fi (em + o) can occur, but more natural is to specify the network: na rede Wi‑Fi da empresa.
Without article after certain prepositions is also common: sem Wi‑Fi, com Wi‑Fi.

Why isn’t there a subject pronoun like ele?

Portuguese is a pro‑drop language. Since Pedro is the subject, there’s no need for ele. You wouldn’t normally say Ele Pedro fica…

Any differences between European and Brazilian Portuguese here?

EP commonly uses the article before names (o Pedro); BP often omits it (Pedro).
In BP you’ll often hear quando a internet cai, and ficar bravo is a common way to say “get mad” (EP: ficar zangado).
Everything else is mutually understandable.

Is the spelling Wi‑Fi, Wi-fi, or wifi?

You’ll see all three in practice. Style guides often prefer Wi‑Fi (hyphenated, capitalized) or wi‑fi. In informal contexts, wifi is very common. The grammar of the sentence doesn’t change.