Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Antes do exame, o Pedro fica muito ansioso e quase não fala. - Before the exam, Pedro gets very anxious and hardly speaks.

We’re talking about a specific exam that both speaker and listener know about.
Portuguese normally uses the article in such cases, where English often omits the.

Other possibilities and their meanings:

Antes do exame = Before the exam (a specific, known exam) – this is the normal, natural choice.
Antes de exame = Grammatically possible but sounds strange/unnatural here; it would sound like “before exam in general” (very generic).
Antes de um exame = Before an exam (any exam, not a specific one).

“Antes de o exame” is grammatically correct on paper, but in real Portuguese it is always contracted to “Antes do exame” in speech and writing.

What exactly is being contracted in “do exame”, and how do these contractions work?

“do” is a contraction of the preposition “de” (of, from) and the masculine singular article “o” (the):

de + o = do
de + a = da
de + os = dos
de + as = das

So:

Antes de o exame → Antes do exame
Antes de a prova → Antes da prova
Antes de os exames → Antes dos exames
Antes de as provas → Antes das provas

In normal Portuguese, you must use these contractions when the preposition and article occur together. Writing or saying “de o exame” without contracting sounds wrong.

Why is it “o Pedro” and not just “Pedro”?

In European Portuguese, it is very common to use the definite article before people’s names:

o Pedro (masculine)
a Maria (feminine)

This doesn’t translate directly into English – we don’t say “the Pedro”. It’s just a feature of Portuguese.

Some notes:

In European Portuguese, “o Pedro” is the neutral, usual way to refer to someone:
- O Pedro fica muito ansioso.
In Brazilian Portuguese, using the article before names is less common and more regional; many Brazilians simply say “Pedro fica muito ansioso”.

So here, “o Pedro” is perfectly natural in Portugal and sounds normal, not special or emphatic.

What does “fica” mean here, and why not “é” or “está”?

The verb ficar has several meanings. In this sentence it means “to become / to get”:

o Pedro fica muito ansioso
→ Pedro gets / becomes very anxious.

Compare:

O Pedro é muito ansioso.
→ Pedro is (by nature) very anxious. (permanent characteristic)
O Pedro está muito ansioso.
→ Pedro is very anxious (right now, in this moment).
O Pedro fica muito ansioso antes do exame.
→ Before the exam, Pedro gets / becomes very anxious (this is what happens at that time).

So fica is used for a change of state, often repeated/habitual in certain situations.

Why is the verb “fica” in the present tense if we’re talking about something that happens repeatedly (every time there is an exam)?

In Portuguese (as in English), the present simple tense is used for:

Habits and repeated actions
General truths

So:

O Pedro fica muito ansioso antes do exame.
= Pedro gets very anxious before the exam (whenever that situation happens).

This is like English:

“He gets really nervous before an exam.”
Here too, English uses the present simple gets, not something special for “every time”.

Why is it “muito ansioso” and not “muita ansiosa” or something similar?

Two points:

Agreement of “ansioso”
- ansioso agrees with Pedro (masculine, singular):
  - o Pedro → ansioso
  - if it were a Maria, it would be: a Maria fica muito ansiosa.
“muito” as an adverb
Here muito modifies the adjective ansioso:
- muito ansioso = very anxious
  As an adverb, muito is invariable: it does not change for gender or number:
- muito ansioso
- muito ansiosa
- muito ansiosos
- muito ansiosas

So muito ansioso is correct because:

The adjective “ansioso” agrees with Pedro (masculine singular).
The adverb “muito” stays the same.

What exactly does “quase não fala” mean? Is it “almost doesn’t speak” or “barely speaks”?

“Quase não fala” is best translated as “hardly speaks” / “barely speaks”.

quase = almost
não fala = doesn’t speak

But together:

quase não fala = he speaks very little, he hardly talks.

So:

Antes do exame, o Pedro fica muito ansioso e quase não fala.
= Before the exam, Pedro gets very anxious and barely speaks.

If you said “não fala quase nada” (= he doesn’t speak almost anything), that would mean:

he says almost nothing, which is a bit stronger than quase não fala, but very similar in practice.

Where should “quase” go in the sentence? Could I say “Não fala quase” or “fala quase não”?

The natural word order is:

quase não + [verb]
- quase não fala = he hardly speaks

Some alternatives:

não fala quase nada = he doesn’t speak almost anything (he says almost nothing)
fala muito pouco = he speaks very little

But:

“não fala quase” – sounds incomplete/unnatural (you expect “quase nada” after it).
“fala quase não” – sounds wrong in standard Portuguese.

So in this structure, keep “quase não” together before the verb:

quase não fala
quase não come
quase não dorme

Why is there a comma after “Antes do exame”? Is it necessary?

“Antes do exame” is an adverbial phrase of time placed at the beginning of the sentence. In Portuguese:

When a time phrase comes before the main clause, a comma is usual and recommended:
- Antes do exame, o Pedro fica muito ansioso.
- De manhã, eu bebo café.

You can sometimes omit the comma in very short, simple sentences, but:

In careful writing, the comma here is considered correct and more natural.
Writing “Antes do exame o Pedro fica…” without the comma is not a serious mistake, but looks less standard.

Could I say “o Pedro é muito ansioso antes do exame” instead of “fica muito ansioso”?

You can say it, but the meaning changes slightly.

O Pedro é muito ansioso antes do exame.
Suggests that “being anxious before the exam” is a relatively stable trait of Pedro in that context (almost like a characteristic of his personality in exam situations).
O Pedro fica muito ansioso antes do exame.
Emphasises the change: in that period before the exam he becomes / gets very anxious, even if he might be calmer at other times.

In normal communication about a reaction to a specific situation, “fica muito ansioso” is more natural.

Can I drop the article and just say “Pedro fica muito ansioso antes do exame” in European Portuguese?

You can, but it sounds less typical for European Portuguese.

O Pedro fica muito ansioso… → very natural in Portugal.
Pedro fica muito ansioso… → possible, but:
- can sound a bit more written/formal,
- or a bit influenced by Brazilian Portuguese,
- or used in certain styles (headlines, lists, etc.).

In everyday European Portuguese speech, native speakers usually use “o / a” before first names.

Is there any difference between “exame” and “prova” here?

In Portugal, both exame and prova can refer to tests, but:

exame:
- Often used for more official or important exams, like final exams, medical exams, driving tests.
prova:
- Can also mean test/exam, but also trial, proof, race event (e.g. a sports race).
- In school context, prova can be a written test (e.g. prova escrita).

In Brazil, prova is more commonly used for school tests, while exame can sound more formal or specific (e.g. exame médico).

In this sentence about “Antes do exame…”, using exame is completely natural in Portugal for an important test. You could say “Antes da prova…” in some contexts too, but it slightly depends on the type of test and local usage.

Could the sentence be reordered to “Antes do exame, fica o Pedro muito ansioso e quase não fala”?

Grammatically, yes, but stylistically it’s unusual.

Fica o Pedro muito ansioso… = inversion of subject and verb.

This kind of inversion:

can appear in literary, poetic, or very formal Portuguese,
but in normal everyday speech you would say:
- Antes do exame, o Pedro fica muito ansioso e quase não fala.

So while your reordered version isn’t wrong, it sounds marked / literary, not neutral.