Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Este ano, o meu grande objetivo é dormir melhor todas as noites. - This year, my main goal is to sleep better every night.

Why does the sentence start with Este ano and have a comma: Este ano, o meu grande objetivo…? Could I also say O meu grande objetivo este ano é…?

Both options are correct; it’s just word order and style.

Este ano, o meu grande objetivo é…
Puts emphasis on this year as the time frame. The comma marks Este ano as a separate introductory element.
O meu grande objetivo este ano é…
Puts a bit more focus on the objective itself, and then specifies este ano. No comma is needed here.

In European Portuguese it’s very common and natural to start sentences with a time expression like Este ano, Hoje em dia, No verão, followed by a comma.

Why do we say o meu grande objetivo and not just meu grande objetivo?

In European Portuguese, it’s normal to use the definite article with possessive adjectives:

o meu carro – my car
a minha casa – my house
os meus livros – my books

So o meu grande objetivo follows this pattern.

Leaving out the article (meu grande objetivo) is grammatically possible but sounds much more formal, literary, or sometimes Brazilian-influenced in European Portuguese. In everyday European Portuguese, with nouns, you almost always use the article: o meu, a tua, os seus, etc.

Why is it grande objetivo and not objetivo grande? Does the position of grande change the meaning?

Yes, adjective position can change the nuance.

um grande objetivo – usually means an important / major / big (in importance) goal
um objetivo grande – would be understood more literally as a goal that is big in size or extent, and sounds unusual in this context

In Portuguese, many adjectives are more figurative or evaluative when they come before the noun:

um grande amigo – a great friend (emotionally close / important)
um amigo grande – a big (physically large) friend

So o meu grande objetivo here means my big/important goal, not a physically large goal.

Why is it é dormir melhor and not something like é a dormir melhor or é que eu durma melhor?

After é (the verb ser) expressing an objective, plan, or function, Portuguese normally uses the infinitive:

O meu objetivo é dormir melhor. – My goal is to sleep better.
O meu sonho é viajar pelo mundo. – My dream is to travel around the world.
O plano é chegar cedo. – The plan is to arrive early.

Using a + infinitive (é a dormir) in this type of structure is not standard.

A subjunctive construction like é que eu durma melhor would sound strange here; dormir as an infinitive works as a noun-like action (the act of sleeping), which matches the idea of a “goal” very naturally.

Is melhor here an adjective or an adverb? Why can I say dormir melhor?

In Portuguese, melhor is the comparative form of both:

bom (good) – adjective
bem (well) – adverb

So melhor can be:

Adjective:
- Um sono melhor – a better sleep
- Uma cama melhor – a better bed
Adverb (modifying a verb):
- Dormir melhor – to sleep better
- Comer melhor – to eat better
- Trabalhar melhor – to work better

In dormir melhor, melhor is functioning as an adverb, describing how you sleep (better), just like dormir bem (to sleep well).

Why is it todas as noites and not todas noites?

With todo/toda/todos/todas meaning every / all, Portuguese normally uses the definite article before a countable noun:

todas as noites – every night / all the nights
todos os dias – every day
todas as semanas – every week
todos os meses – every month

Saying todas noites (without as) sounds incorrect or at least very odd in European Portuguese in this meaning.

So the pattern is:
todas as + plural feminine noun → todas as noites, todas as aulas, etc.

Does todas as noites mean exactly “every night”, or “all the nights” in a more literal sense?

In context, todas as noites is the natural way to say every night in Portuguese.

Dormir melhor todas as noites → “to sleep better every night”

It can be translated literally as all the nights, but in normal usage the meaning is equivalent to English every night: regularly, night after night, as a habit.

Could I say todos os dias à noite instead of todas as noites? Would it change the meaning?

You could say:

Este ano, o meu grande objetivo é dormir melhor todos os dias à noite.

This is grammatically correct, but it’s more wordy and slightly less natural for this simple idea. The meanings are very close:

todas as noites – every night (short, direct, very idiomatic)
todos os dias à noite – every day at night / every evening

In most contexts about sleep, todas as noites is the most natural choice.

I sometimes see objectivo with a c and sometimes objetivo without it. Which is correct here?

Because this is European Portuguese, both spellings have existed:

Before the 1990 Orthographic Agreement: objectivo (with c) was the standard spelling in Portugal.
After the reform (which Portugal officially adopted), the recommended spelling is objetivo (without c).

Today, in most up-to-date texts, you’ll see objetivo. Older books or conservative writers may still use objectivo, but objetivo is the modern standard form.

What is the difference between objetivo and meta? Could I say a minha grande meta instead?

You could say:

Este ano, a minha grande meta é dormir melhor todas as noites.

It’s correct and understandable, but there is a nuance:

objetivo – very common, neutral word for goal / objective / aim. Used in everyday speech, work, school, self-improvement, etc.
meta – also means goal / target, but often suggests a target to reach, sometimes with a clearer end point (like finishing a race, reaching a sales target, etc.). It can sound slightly more “planned” or “milestone-like”.

In this self-improvement context, objetivo is the most natural choice, but meta is not wrong.