Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Este exercício exige esforço, mas o resultado vale a pena. - This exercise requires effort, but the result is worth it.

este exercício suggests the exercise you’re doing right now, or one that’s very “present” in the context (e.g. the one on the page in front of you).
esse exercício would be more like “that exercise (near you / that you mentioned).”

In practice, many speakers use este and esse almost interchangeably in casual speech, but este exercício is very natural when referring to the exercise you’re working on at the moment (for example, the current exercise in a textbook).

Why is it este and not esta?

Este/esta must agree in gender with the noun:

exercício is masculine → este exercício
If the noun were feminine, e.g. tarefa (task), you’d say → esta tarefa

Basic pattern (singular):

Masculine: este (this), esse, aquele
Feminine: esta, essa, aquela

What does exige come from, and what tense is it?

Exige is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb exigir (“to demand / to require”).

Conjugation (present indicative):

eu exijo – I demand / require
tu exiges – you demand / require (informal singular)
ele / ela / você exige – he / she / you (formal) demand / require
nós exigimos – we demand / require
eles / elas / vocês exigem – they / you (plural) demand / require

In the sentence, este exercício exige esforço, the subject is este exercício (3rd person singular), so the verb is exige.

The tense is present, which in Portuguese (as in English) can express:

a general fact: Este exercício exige esforço. – This exercise requires effort (whenever you do it).
a current situation: “Right now, this exercise is demanding effort from me.”

Why is it exige esforço and not exige de esforço or exige um esforço?

In Portuguese, some verbs take a direct object without a preposition. Exigir commonly works like that when it means “to require”:

exigir esforço – to require effort
exigir paciência – to require patience
exigir atenção – to require attention

Adding de (exigir de esforço) would be incorrect here; esforço is a direct object, so no preposition.

Using um esforço is possible, but changes the nuance slightly:

exige esforço – it takes/needs effort (effort in general, uncountable idea)
exige um esforço – it takes an effort / a certain effort (a bit more specific or emphatic)

Both can be correct; in your sentence, the more general esforço fits well.

What is the difference between esforço and força?

Both relate to “strength,” but they’re not interchangeable:

esforço = effort
- focus on the act of trying, exertion, making an effort
- Faz um esforço. – Make an effort.
- Este exercício exige esforço. – This exercise requires effort.
força = strength / physical power / force
- the ability to do something, not the attempt itself
- Ele tem muita força. – He’s very strong.
- Força! – “Come on! / You can do it!” (encouragement)

In your sentence, we’re talking about the effort you put in, so esforço is the right word.

Why is there a comma before mas?

In Portuguese, when mas (“but”) connects two full clauses (each with its own subject and verb), a comma is normally used:

Este exercício exige esforço, mas o resultado vale a pena.

Clause 1: Este exercício exige esforço
Clause 2: o resultado vale a pena

Each is a complete idea, so the comma before mas is standard, much like in English:

This exercise requires effort, but the result is worth it.

What’s the difference between mas and mais? They look similar.

They’re very different words and often confused by learners:

mas = but (conjunction, no accent)
- Estou cansado, mas vou continuar. – I’m tired, but I’ll keep going.
mais = more / plus (adverb / quantifier, with an accent)
- Quero mais tempo. – I want more time.
- Dois mais dois são quatro. – Two plus two is four.

In your sentence it must be mas (“but”), never mais.

What does the expression vale a pena literally mean, and how is it used?

Literally:

vale – “is worth” (from valer)
a pena – “the pain / hardship / trouble”

So vale a pena literally means “is worth the pain/trouble.”
Idiomatic meaning: “is worth it”.

Common patterns:

Vale a pena + infinitive
- Vale a pena tentar. – It’s worth trying.
- Não vale a pena discutir. – It’s not worth arguing.
[algo] vale a pena.
- O resultado vale a pena. – The result is worth it.
- Esta viagem vale a pena. – This trip is worth it.

Negative:

não vale a pena – it’s not worth it
- Não vale a pena o esforço. – The effort isn’t worth it.

Why is it o resultado vale a pena and not o resultado é vale a pena?

In Portuguese, valer already means “to be worth”, so you don’t add ser (é) before it. It works like English “to be worth”:

O resultado vale a pena.
≈ “The result is worth it.”

Saying o resultado é vale a pena would be like saying in English “the result is is worth it” – redundant and ungrammatical.

So the correct structures are:

[algo] vale a pena. – Something is worth it.
[algo] não vale a pena. – Something isn’t worth it.

What else can pena mean in Portuguese?

Pena has several meanings, depending on context:

Pity / sorrow
- Que pena! – What a pity! / That’s a shame.
Punishment / penalty (more formal / legal)
- pena de prisão – prison sentence
- pena de morte – death penalty
Feather
- pena de galinha – chicken feather
- caneta de pena – fountain pen (historically, “quill pen”)

In vale a pena, it comes from the “pain / trouble / penalty” sense, but the phrase is fixed and just means “it’s worth it”.

How do you pronounce the tricky words: exercício, exige, and esforço in European Portuguese?

Approximate European Portuguese pronunciation (not spelling rules):

exercício – [ɨ.zɛɾ.ˈsi.sju]
- e-: short, almost like an unstressed “uh” [ɨ]
- -xer-: x between vowels sounds like [z] here → [zɛɾ]
- stress on -cí-: -cício → [ˈsi.sju]
exige – [ɨ.ˈzi.ʒɨ]
- e- again like [ɨ]
- x = [z]
- -ge = [ʒɨ] (the “zh” sound as in French jour)
esforço – [ɨʃ.ˈfɔɾ.su]
- es- before consonant usually [ɨʃ] in PT-PT
- ç is always an s sound (never “k”) before a, o, u

So the rhythm of the full sentence in PT-PT is roughly:

[ˈeʃ.tɨ ɨ.zɛɾ.ˈsi.sju ɨ.ˈzi.ʒɨ ɨʃ.ˈfɔɾ.su | maʃ u ʁɨ.zulˈta.ðu ˈva.lɨ a ˈpe.nɐ]

Could I say o resultado é bom, vale a pena instead of o resultado vale a pena?

Yes, that’s possible and natural, but the meaning is slightly different:

O resultado vale a pena.
Focus: The result justifies the effort. Even if it’s hard, the outcome makes it worthwhile.
O resultado é bom, vale a pena.
Now you’re explicitly saying the result is good, and as a consequence it is worth it.

You can also combine them:

O resultado é tão bom que vale a pena. – The result is so good that it’s worth it.

Can I change the word order and say Este exercício exige esforço, mas vale a pena o resultado?

You can say …mas vale a pena o resultado, and it’s grammatically possible, but it sounds a bit less natural than:

…mas o resultado vale a pena.

In Portuguese, the typical word order is subject–verb–rest:

O resultado (subject) vale (verb) a pena (rest)

Putting o resultado after vale a pena gives it a kind of “afterthought” feel, which is less common in a neutral sentence. The original sentence is the most straightforward and natural.

Could I replace exige with requer? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say:

Este exercício exige esforço, mas o resultado vale a pena.
Este exercício requer esforço, mas o resultado vale a pena.

Both are correct.

Nuance:

exigir – “to demand / to require”; often sounds stronger, can imply something is quite demanding.
requerer – “to require”; a bit more formal / neutral.

In everyday speech, exige is very common and matches the tone of talking about a demanding exercise. Requer could sound slightly more formal or technical.

How would the sentence change in the plural?

If you talk about several exercises and results, you need to make nouns, articles, demonstratives, and verbs agree in number:

Singular (original):

Este exercício exige esforço, mas o resultado vale a pena.

Plural:

Estes exercícios exigem esforço, mas os resultados valem a pena.

Changes:

Este → Estes (demonstrative, masculine plural)
exercício → exercícios
exige → exigem (3rd person plural)
o resultado → os resultados
vale → valem (3rd person plural)