Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Quem estuda com calma acaba por aprender até as partes mais difíceis. - Whoever studies calmly ends up learning even the hardest parts.

Quem estuda com calma… ≈ “Whoever studies calmly…” / “Anyone who studies calmly…”
It introduces a general condition, like a rule that applies to people in general, not a specific person.

Why is it estuda (3rd person singular) after quem? Could it be plural?

With quem, the verb is almost always in the 3rd person singular, even if logically it could refer to more than one person.

Quem estuda com calma (not quem estudam).

Portuguese treats quem grammatically as singular, so you say:

Quem estuda passa. – “Whoever studies passes.”
Quem estuda com calma acaba por aprender…

Using the plural (quem estudam) would be considered incorrect.

What does acaba por aprender mean exactly? Why not just aprende?

Acabar por + infinitive means “to end up (doing something)” / “eventually do something”.

acaba por aprender ≈ “ends up learning” / “eventually learns”

If you just said:

Quem estuda com calma aprende até as partes mais difíceis.

it would mean “Whoever studies calmly learns even the hardest parts” – a bit more direct, less emphasis on the idea of process and eventual result.

Acaba por aprender highlights that, over time and as a result of steady effort, the person eventually manages to learn even the difficult parts.

Is the por in acaba por aprender necessary? Could I say acaba aprender?

Yes, por is necessary here. The idiomatic structure is:

acabar por + infinitive = “to end up doing something”

So:

✅ acabar por aprender
❌ acabar aprender (wrong in European Portuguese in this meaning)

Without por, acabar normally refers to finishing something:

acabar o trabalho – to finish the work
acabar a lição – to finish the lesson

So to get the “end up doing” meaning, you need por.

Can I say vai acabar por aprender? How does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Quem estuda com calma vai acabar por aprender até as partes mais difíceis.

This adds a bit more future orientation and can sound slightly more informal. It’s like saying:

“Whoever studies calmly is going to end up learning even the hardest parts.”

The original acaba por aprender in the present tense states a general truth / rule rather than focusing on a particular future outcome.

What does com calma literally mean, and how is it used?

Com calma literally means “with calm”, but idiomatically it means:

“calmly”, “without rushing”, “in a relaxed/steady way”

It’s a very common way to describe how someone does something:

Fala com calma. – “Speak calmly / slowly.”
Vamos resolver isto com calma. – “Let’s sort this out calmly.”

You could use an adverb like calmamente, but com calma is much more natural in everyday speech.

Could com calma go somewhere else in the sentence?

Yes, you can move com calma, but you should keep it attached to the verb estuda so the meaning remains clear:

Quem estuda com calma acaba por aprender… (most natural)
Quem, com calma, estuda, acaba por aprender… (possible, but sounds more literary/formal)
Quem estuda acaba por aprender, com calma, até as partes mais difíceis. (odd; sounds like the learning is calm rather than the studying)

In practice, the original word order is the most natural and clear.

Does até here mean “until” or “even”?

Here até means “even”, not “until” or “up to”.

até as partes mais difíceis ≈ “even the hardest parts”

Other uses of até:

Trabalhei até às seis. – “I worked until six.”
Gosto de tudo, até de brócolos. – “I like everything, even broccoli.”

In your sentence, it’s the “even” meaning, stressing that even the most difficult parts are eventually learned.

Why is it as partes mais difíceis and not something like os partes or parte?

Breakdown:

partes – plural of parte (feminine noun)
Feminine plural article: as (not os)
Adjective agrees in gender and number: difíceis (plural of difícil)
mais difíceis – “more difficult” → “most difficult/hardest” in this context

So:

a parte difícil – the difficult part
as partes difíceis – the difficult parts
as partes mais difíceis – the most difficult/hardest parts

Using os partes would be wrong because parte is feminine.

Why is difíceis after partes? In English we say “difficult parts”, not “parts difficult”.

In Portuguese, adjectives normally come after the noun:

partes difíceis – “difficult parts”
livro interessante – “interesting book”
exame fácil – “easy exam”

They can come before the noun, but that often changes the emphasis or meaning. Here, the natural order is:

as partes mais difíceis – “the hardest parts”

Putting difíceis before partes (as difíceis partes) would sound unnatural or poetic.

Why is the present tense used (estuda, acaba, aprender) if we’re talking about what happens over time?

Portuguese uses the simple present a lot for general truths, habits, and rules, just like English in:

“Whoever works hard succeeds.”
“If you heat water, it boils.”

So:

Quem estuda com calma acaba por aprender…

is a general statement: anytime someone studies calmly, this is what tends to happen. It’s not about a specific moment in the past or future, but a general principle.

Is this more European Portuguese or Brazilian Portuguese? Would Brazilians say it the same way?

The sentence is very natural in European Portuguese, especially the structure acabar por + infinitive:

Quem estuda com calma acaba por aprender…

In Brazilian Portuguese, people do understand and use acabar por, but in everyday speech they very often say:

Quem estuda com calma acaba aprendendo até as partes mais difíceis.

Using acabar + gerúndio (acaba aprendendo) is more typical in Brazil, while acabar por aprender sounds more typical and natural in Portugal.