Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): O utilizador não consegue iniciar sessão no computador porque se esqueceu da palavra‑passe. - The user can’t sign in on the computer because he forgot the password.

Conseguir means “to manage to / be able to (in the sense of capability or success).”
Poder can mean “to be allowed to / may,” and also “can,” but often implies permission or possibility.
Here the user is unable to log in due to forgetting the password, so não consegue is the natural choice. Não pode could suggest they’re not allowed to log in (policy/permission).

Example contrast:

Não consegue iniciar sessão porque se esqueceu da palavra‑passe. (He can’t manage to log in.)
Não pode iniciar sessão porque a empresa não permite. (He’s not allowed to log in.)

What exactly is consegue grammatically?

Consegue is the 3rd person singular present indicative of conseguir.

Eu consigo
Tu consegues
Ele/Ela/Você consegue
Nós conseguimos
Vocês/Eles/Elas conseguem

In the sentence, O utilizador is 3rd person singular, hence consegue.

Why is it iniciar sessão without an article? Why not iniciar a sessão?

Iniciar sessão is a set phrase in European Portuguese for “to log in,” so it normally appears without an article. Use a sessão only when you’re referring to a specific, already identified session (rare in the login sense). In IT/UI contexts, stick with bare iniciar sessão.

Are there other natural ways to say “log in” in Portugal?

Yes:

iniciar sessão (most standard in EP, especially in interfaces)
entrar (na conta/no sistema) (very common in speech)
autenticar‑se (more formal/technical)
Borrowed forms like fazer login occur, but many EP style guides prefer the options above. The Brazilian logar is common in Brazil but avoided in careful EP.

Why is it porque and not por que or porquê?

porque = “because” (introduces a cause), which is what we need here.
por que is mainly used in questions meaning “why/for what reason” (more common in BR; EP often uses Por que é que…?).
porquê (with accent) is a noun meaning “the reason,” or appears at the end of a question: Porquê?

Why is it porque se esqueceu and not porque esqueceu‑se?

In European Portuguese, certain elements trigger the pronoun to come before the verb (proclisis). Subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions like porque are such contexts. So the standard form is:

… porque se esqueceu … (proclisis, preferred/standard)

In a main clause without a trigger, EP typically uses enclisis:

Esqueceu‑se da palavra‑passe.

Using enclisis after porque (porque esqueceu‑se) is nonstandard in formal EP.

Do I always need the se with esquecer?

In EP, the pronominal form esquecer‑se de (forget to/about something) is the default in everyday speech: Esqueci‑me da palavra‑passe.
The non‑pronominal esquecer also exists and is correct, especially as a direct transitive verb: Esqueci a palavra‑passe or Esquece isso! In EP, this is less frequent in everyday speech for “I forgot my password,” but not wrong.
With the pronominal form you must keep de: esquecer‑se de algo.

What is da in da palavra‑passe?

It’s the contraction of de + a (“of/from + the (feminine singular)”). Because esquecer‑se de requires de, and palavra‑passe takes the article a, you get de + a → da.

What is no in no computador?

It’s the contraction of em + o (“in/on + the (masculine singular)”) → no.

no computador = “on the computer” or “on the PC.”

Why is the se attached to esqueceu and not to consegue?

Because se belongs to the verb esquecer‑se (de). It does not relate to conseguir. So:

Correct: … não consegue … porque se esqueceu da palavra‑passe.
Incorrect: … não se consegue … porque esqueceu … (here, se is wrongly tied to conseguir).

Is palavra‑passe the normal word in Portugal? What about senha or password?

In EP, palavra‑passe is the standard term in formal writing and UIs. Plural: palavras‑passe.
senha is very common in Brazil for “password,” and in Portugal it may be understood but is less standard for computer login (it can also mean a ticket/queue number).
Many people in Portugal also say password informally, but public‑sector and editorial standards favor palavra‑passe.
The hyphen in palavra‑passe is correct under the current orthography.

Why O utilizador and not just Utilizador?

European Portuguese normally uses the definite article with roles and nouns in neutral statements: O utilizador… In headlines, labels, or bullet points you might drop it, but in full sentences O utilizador is the natural form. For a woman you’d say A utilizadora.

Is O utilizador gender‑neutral?

Grammatically it’s masculine singular and often used generically. For explicit inclusivity you can use:

O/A utilizador(a) in writing,
A pessoa utilizadora (more neutral but wordier),
Or rephrase to the plural: Os utilizadores (often read as mixed‑gender).

Why no possessive in no computador? Shouldn’t it be “on his computer”?

Portuguese often omits possessives where English would use them. no computador is fine if context makes ownership clear. If you need to specify:

no seu computador (can mean his/her/your—ambiguous),
no computador dele/dela (explicit “his/her computer”),
no computador da empresa (the company’s computer).

Why is não consegue in the present but se esqueceu in the past?

It’s a natural sequence of tenses: present result caused by a past event.

Present state: não consegue iniciar sessão (right now he can’t).
Past cause: porque se esqueceu (he forgot earlier).

You could also say everything in the past if you describe a past situation: não conseguiu … porque se esqueceu …

Can I front the reason clause? For example: Porque se esqueceu…, o utilizador não consegue…

Yes. Porque se esqueceu da palavra‑passe, o utilizador não consegue iniciar sessão no computador. The comma is required after the fronted subordinate clause. The clitic still stays before esqueceu (proclisis) because of porque.

Could I use por causa de instead of porque?

Yes, but mind the structure:

… não consegue iniciar sessão … por causa de se ter esquecido da palavra‑passe.
More idiomatic: … não consegue iniciar sessão … por se ter esquecido da palavra‑passe. Use porque to introduce a full clause; use por causa de before a noun phrase or a non‑finite verb phrase.

Any pronunciation tips for tricky words here?

não: nasal vowel; think “now” but nasalized.
consegue: stress on the second syllable: con‑SÉ‑gue; final ‑e is reduced in EP.
sessão: two s’s give an unvoiced “s”; final ‑ão is a nasal diphthong.
se esqueceu: the esq‑ cluster sounds like “shk” in EP: “esh‑k…”.
palavra‑passe: stress on LA in palavra; double s = unvoiced “s.”

Is sessão the same as seção?

No. They’re different words:

sessão = “session” (what we want here).
seção (or secção in older EP spelling) = “section.” Don’t confuse them.

Is ordenador ever used in Portuguese for “computer”?

No in Portuguese; that’s Spanish. In Portugal, say computador. For “laptop,” say portátil.