Breakdown of Eu gosto de ouvir um podcast curto enquanto preparo o pequeno‑almoço.
Questions & Answers about Eu gosto de ouvir um podcast curto enquanto preparo o pequeno‑almoço.
In Portuguese, the verb gostar almost always needs the preposition de before what you like.
Basic pattern:
- gostar de + noun:
- Gosto de chocolate. – I like chocolate.
- gostar de + pronoun:
- Gosto de ti. – I like you.
- gostar de + verb (infinitive):
- Gosto de ouvir podcasts. – I like listening to podcasts.
So:
- Eu gosto de ouvir um podcast curto… ✅
- Eu gosto ouvir um podcast curto… ❌ (incorrect)
Just remember: gostar de is a fixed combination.
Yes, and that’s actually what you’ll hear most often in Portugal.
Portuguese is a “null-subject” language, so you don’t need subject pronouns as long as the verb ending already shows who the subject is.
- (Eu) gosto – I like
- (Eu) preparo – I prepare
So these are both correct:
- Eu gosto de ouvir um podcast curto… – adds emphasis on I
- Gosto de ouvir um podcast curto… – neutral, very natural
In the second part, enquanto preparo o pequeno‑almoço, the subject is the same eu, so it’s normally omitted. You can say:
- … enquanto eu preparo o pequeno‑almoço
This adds a bit of emphasis or contrast (for example: “… enquanto eu preparo o pequeno‑almoço e ela arruma a cozinha”).
After gostar de, you use the infinitive of the verb to talk about liking an activity:
- gostar de + infinitive
- Gosto de ouvir música. – I like listening to music.
- Gosto de ler. – I like reading.
Forms like ouvindo or a ouvir are progressive forms (“listening”) and they’re used with estar, not with gostar:
- European Portuguese:
- Estou a ouvir um podcast. – I am listening to a podcast (right now).
- Brazilian Portuguese:
- Estou ouvindo um podcast.
So:
- Gosto de ouvir um podcast curto… ✅
- Gosto ouvindo um podcast curto… ❌
- Gosto de ouvindo um podcast curto… ❌
- Gosto de a ouvir um podcast curto… ❌
With gostar, stick to de + infinitive.
Both verbs exist and can often be used for similar things:
- ouvir – to hear / to listen (very common, neutral)
- escutar – to listen (often with a nuance of listening attentively)
For media like music, radio, or podcasts, ouvir is the most usual choice:
- ouvir música – to listen to music
- ouvir a rádio – to listen to the radio
- ouvir um podcast – to listen to a podcast
You can say:
- Gosto de escutar um podcast curto… – grammatically fine.
But ouvir um podcast sounds more natural and idiomatic in European Portuguese.
The default order in Portuguese is:
- noun + adjective
- um podcast curto – a short podcast
- um livro interessante – an interesting book
- uma casa grande – a big house
Adjectives can come before the noun, but that is:
- More literary or poetic, or
- Used for particular adjectives where the position changes the nuance (e.g. um grande amigo vs um amigo grande).
With curto, putting it before the noun:
- um curto podcast
sounds a bit unusual in everyday speech, maybe slightly literary or stylistic. Most of the time, you should say um podcast curto.
enquanto and quando are close but not identical:
- enquanto = while → focuses on two actions happening at the same time.
- quando = when / whenever → focuses on the moment or occasion something happens.
Your sentence:
- Gosto de ouvir um podcast curto enquanto preparo o pequeno‑almoço.
Emphasises that listening and preparing breakfast happen simultaneously.
If you say:
- Gosto de ouvir um podcast curto quando preparo o pequeno‑almoço.
it still sounds natural, but the nuance is more like:
- “I like listening to a short podcast whenever I make breakfast.”
So yes, quando works here too, but enquanto puts a bit more emphasis on the overlapping of the two actions.
In Portuguese, the simple present is used a lot more than in English. It covers:
Habits / routines:
- Trabalho em Lisboa. – I work in Lisbon.
- Gosto de ouvir um podcast curto enquanto preparo o pequeno‑almoço.
Actions happening now, especially in narration or informal speech:
- Ouve, eu falo contigo e tu não prestas atenção. – Look, I’m talking to you and you’re not paying attention.
The progressive form (ongoing right now) in European Portuguese is:
- estar a + infinitive
- Estou a preparar o pequeno‑almoço. – I am preparing breakfast (right this moment).
In your sentence, we’re talking about a general habit / routine, so:
- … enquanto preparo o pequeno‑almoço. ✅ is the natural choice.
… enquanto estou a preparar o pequeno‑almoço is grammatically correct, but it fits better in a specific, “right now” context, not in a general “I like to…” statement.
In Portuguese, names of meals usually take the definite article when you refer to an actual meal (today’s breakfast, today’s lunch, etc.):
- o pequeno‑almoço – breakfast
- o almoço – lunch
- o jantar – dinner
So:
- Estou a preparar o pequeno‑almoço. – I’m making breakfast.
- Gosto de ouvir um podcast curto enquanto preparo o pequeno‑almoço.
Without the article:
- preparar pequeno‑almoço ❌ sounds wrong or very unnatural in normal speech.
You’ll also see forms like:
- Ao pequeno‑almoço bebo café. – For breakfast I drink coffee.
(Here ao = a + o, still using the article.)
So in your sentence, o pequeno‑almoço is exactly what you want.
In standard European Portuguese, the correct spelling is:
- pequeno‑almoço (with a hyphen)
This is treated as a single lexical item meaning breakfast, not literally “small lunch”.
Writing pequeno almoço (without hyphen) is considered a spelling mistake in formal writing, even though you might sometimes see it online because people are careless with hyphens or typing on phones.
Brazilian Portuguese uses a different expression:
- café da manhã – breakfast (no hyphen here, and a completely different phrase)
So, for Portuguese from Portugal: memorize pequeno‑almoço with a hyphen.
You can change the object, but the article rules matter. Let’s look at the options:
Gosto de ouvir um podcast curto…
- Focuses on one short podcast per occasion.
- Rough idea: “I like to listen to a (single) short podcast while I make breakfast.”
Gosto de ouvir podcasts curtos…
- Plural, no article → a general preference.
- “I like listening to short podcasts (in general) while I make breakfast.”
- This is completely natural.
Gosto de ouvir o podcast curto…
- Refers to a specific podcast already known to both speaker and listener.
- “I like listening to the short podcast (that we both know about)…”
Gosto de ouvir podcast curto… (singular, without article)
- ❌ This is wrong in normal Portuguese.
- Singular countable nouns like podcast need an article or another determiner (um, este, aquele, etc.).
Article usage with podcast:
- um podcast / o podcast / este podcast / vários podcasts – all fine.
- Zero article with plural (generic): ouço podcasts todos os dias – fine.
- Singular without any determiner: ouço podcast – incorrect in standard speech.
So:
- Gosto de ouvir um podcast curto… ✅
- Gosto de ouvir podcasts curtos… ✅ (slightly different meaning, more generic)
- Gosto de ouvir podcast curto… ❌
Also note: podcast is treated as masculine in Portuguese, so it’s um podcast, o podcast, podcasts curtos, not uma podcast.