Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Eu não sou preguiçoso, mas às vezes adio tarefas fáceis. - I am not lazy, but sometimes I postpone easy tasks.

…it would sound like “I’m not feeling lazy right now”, implying it could be different at other times. It’s grammatically possible but changes the meaning.

Do I really need to say “Eu”, or can I just say “Não sou preguiçoso”?

You can (and usually do) drop the subject pronoun in Portuguese when the verb ending makes the subject clear.

Eu não sou preguiçoso.
Não sou preguiçoso.

Both are correct and natural.

Differences:

With “Eu” – slightly more emphasis on I (contrast or clarification):
Eu não sou preguiçoso, mas o meu irmão é.
Without “Eu” – more neutral and typical everyday speech.

European Portuguese is a “pro-drop” language, so leaving out eu is very common.

Why is the negative “não” placed before “sou”? Can you ever say “sou não”?

Standard Portuguese forms negation by putting não before the main verb:

Eu não sou preguiçoso. – I am not lazy.
Eu não trabalho amanhã. – I’m not working tomorrow.

You cannot say “Eu sou não preguiçoso” or “Eu sou não” in normal Portuguese.

There is a construction where não appears at the end:

Sou preguiçoso, não. – “I’m lazy, no.” / “I’m not lazy.” (a very colloquial, correcting-yourself kind of use)

But this is different: it’s more like adding “no” or “not” at the end for emphasis or correction, not the standard sentence structure.

What does “às vezes” literally mean, and why does it have an accent?

Às vezes means “sometimes”.

Literally, it comes from:

a (to / at) + as (the, feminine plural) → contracted to às
vezes = “times” (plural of vez, “time/occasion”)

So, às vezes is literally “at the times”, understood as “at certain times” → “sometimes”.

The grave accent (à / às) marks a contraction of the preposition “a” with the article “a/as”:

a + a = à
a + as = às

“As vezes” (without accent) is technically possible in other contexts (meaning “the times”), but for “sometimes” you must write “às vezes” with the accent.

How is “adio” formed, and what verb is it from?

Adio is the 1st person singular, present indicative of the verb adiar (to postpone, to put off).

Infinitive: adiar – to postpone
Eu adio – I postpone / I put off
Tu adias – you postpone
Ele/Ela/Você adia – he/she/you postpone(s)
Nós adiamos – we postpone
Eles/Elas/Vocês adiam – they/you (pl.) postpone

So in the sentence:

…mas às vezes adio tarefas fáceis.
→ “…but sometimes I put off easy tasks.”

The subject is still “I” (even if “eu” is omitted), and adio matches that.

What’s the difference between “adiar”, “atrasar”, and “procrastinar”?

All can relate to delay, but they’re used a bit differently:

adiar – to postpone, deliberately move something to later
- Adio tarefas fáceis. – I postpone easy tasks.
- Adiar a reunião. – To postpone the meeting.
atrasar – to delay or be late (in time)
- O comboio está atrasado. – The train is delayed.
- Atraso sempre o trabalho. – I always delay the work / I’m always late with the work.
procrastinar – to procrastinate (more formal, often used in psychology/self-help contexts)
- Costumo procrastinar. – I tend to procrastinate.

In everyday conversation, for this sentence, adiar or a colloquial expression like “deixar para depois” (leave for later) is more natural than procrastinar.

Why is it “tarefas fáceis” and not “fácil tarefas” or “tarefas fácil”?

Three important points:

Adjective after the noun
In Portuguese, the default position of adjectives is after the noun:
- tarefas fáceis – easy tasks
- livro interessante – interesting book
Gender agreement
- tarefa is feminine (a tarefa).
- The adjective must agree: feminine plural → fáceis (same form for masc/fem, but plural).
Number (singular/plural) agreement
- tarefas is plural, so the adjective must also be plural:
  - Singular: tarefa fácil – easy task
  - Plural: tarefas fáceis – easy tasks

You cannot say “tarefas fácil” (singular adjective with plural noun) in standard Portuguese.

How is “fácil” changed to “fáceis”? The spelling looks different.

Fácil is an adjective ending in -il, and the plural is formed by changing:

-il → -eis

So:

fácil → fáceis
útil → úteis (useful → useful, plural)
difícil → difíceis (difficult → difficult, plural)

Hence:

uma tarefa fácil – one easy task
duas tarefas fáceis – two easy tasks

If I’m a woman, do I say “Eu não sou preguiçosa” instead of “preguiçoso”?

Yes.

Preguiçoso is the masculine form; preguiçosa is the feminine form:

Man: Eu não sou preguiçoso.
Woman: Eu não sou preguiçosa.

The adjective of character normally agrees with the gender of the speaker.

Could I say “mas por vezes adio tarefas fáceis” instead of “mas às vezes…” in European Portuguese?

Yes, but there is a nuance:

às vezes – very common, neutral “sometimes”.
por vezes – also means “sometimes”, but sounds a bit more formal or literary.

So:

Eu não sou preguiçoso, mas às vezes adio tarefas fáceis. – Extremely natural in everyday speech.
Eu não sou preguiçoso, mas por vezes adio tarefas fáceis. – Also correct; may sound slightly more formal or written-style.