Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Vamos à feira de bairro para comprar fruta fresca. - We are going to the neighborhood street market to buy fresh fruit.

The grave-accented à is a contraction of the preposition a (to) + the feminine singular article a (the): a + a = à. You must use it whenever the verb governs a and the next noun takes the definite article a.

Feminine: à feira, às lojas (plural)
Masculine: ao mercado, aos restaurantes (plural) If there’s no article, you don’t contract: Vou a casa, Vou a Lisboa.

Why is it à feira and not na feira?

à = to the (movement toward a place)
na = in/at the (location) So: Vamos à feira (we’re going to the fair) vs. Estamos na feira (we’re at the fair).

Could I say Vamos ao mercado instead of Vamos à feira? What’s the difference between feira and mercado?

Yes, grammatically you can. In Portugal:

feira: usually a periodic street market (often weekly), outdoors.
mercado: a permanent municipal market building/hall. So feira suggests a temporary street-market vibe; mercado suggests the covered, permanent place.

Why is it de bairro and not do bairro in feira de bairro?

de + noun (without article) often works like an adjective: “neighbourhood-type.” feira de bairro = a typical neighbourhood fair (generic). do bairro = de + o (of the neighbourhood), referring to a specific neighbourhood’s fair: a feira do bairro. Use this when you mean the fair belonging to that particular neighbourhood.

Why is there no article before fruta fresca?

In Portuguese, mass/uncountable nouns used in a general sense often appear without an article. comprar fruta fresca means “buy fresh fruit” in general. If you say as frutas frescas, you’re talking about specific fruits or a set you have in mind.

What’s the difference between fruta, frutas, and frutos?

fruta (singular, mass): fruit in general as food. Very common: comprar fruta.
frutas (plural): individual kinds/pieces of fruit; use when emphasizing variety or countability.
frutos: botanical term; also in set phrases like frutos secos (nuts).

Why is it fruta fresca and not fruta fresco?

Agreement. fruta is feminine singular, so the adjective must be feminine singular: fresca. If you used the plural frutas, you’d say frutas frescas.

What does para comprar do here? Could I drop para?

para comprar expresses purpose: “in order to buy.” After verbs of movement, European Portuguese allows either:

Vamos à feira para comprar fruta fresca.
Vamos à feira comprar fruta fresca. Both are natural; the version without para is slightly tighter. Avoid a comprar for purpose here; a + infinitive is mainly used in the progressive (e.g., está a comprar).

Can I say para comprarmos instead of para comprar?

Yes. para comprarmos is the personal infinitive, explicitly marking the subject as “we.” Both are correct when the subject is the same in both clauses:

Neutral: para comprar fruta fresca
Emphatic/explicit: para comprarmos fruta fresca If the subject changes, the personal infinitive (or para que
- subjunctive) clarifies it.

Does Vamos mean “we go” (present) or “let’s go”?

It can be either:

Plain present/near future: Vamos à feira… = “We’re going (to go) to the fair…”
Inclusive suggestion: Vamos à feira… = “Let’s go to the fair…” Context decides. As a bare command, Vamos! or Vamos lá! = “Let’s go!”

What’s the difference between ir a and ir para?

ir a: go to (visit/attend), often short-term or event-oriented. Very common with places you go and then come back. Example: ir à feira, ir ao médico.
ir para: go to (in order to stay/for a longer stint or change of base). Example: ir para a universidade, ir para casa (to be there for a while). So Vamos à feira is the idiomatic choice.

Why is the accent on à grave ( à ) and not acute ( á )?

Because it marks a contraction (crasis) of two a’s: preposition a + article a. The grave accent is the standard sign of this merger in Portuguese. It’s not there to mark stress; it signals the contraction.

How do I pronounce the Rs in feira, bairro, and fresca in European Portuguese?

feira: the single r between vowels is a tapped R [ɾ] (like a quick Spanish R): fei-ɾa.
bairro: rr is the strong R, typically uvular [ʁ], similar to a French/“h” sound: bai-ʁo.
fresca / fruta: the r in clusters (fr) is a tap fɾuta.

Could I write pra instead of para?

In Portugal, para is the standard in writing. You’ll hear a reduced pronunciation (p’ra/prá) in speech, but informal spellings like pra/prà are not standard in European Portuguese. Stick with para in writing.