Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): De manhã, eu sigo uma rotina simples para manter o foco. - In the morning, I follow a simple routine to keep my focus.

Pela manhã also exists and means during the morning / in the morning, but sounds a bit more formal or literary in European Portuguese and is less common in everyday speech than de manhã.

So here, because we’re talking about a habitual routine, de manhã is the natural choice.

Could I leave out eu and just say De manhã, sigo uma rotina simples…?

Yes. In Portuguese, the subject pronoun is often dropped because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is.

Eu sigo – I follow
Sigo – I follow (the eu is understood from -o)

Both are correct:

De manhã, eu sigo uma rotina simples…
De manhã, sigo uma rotina simples…

Differences in feel:

With eu: slightly more emphasis on I (contrasting with others, or introducing yourself, etc.).
Without eu: more neutral, very natural in narration or casual speech.

In isolation (just one sentence), both versions feel fine. In a longer paragraph, Portuguese speakers often omit eu once context is clear.

What verb is sigo from, and how is it conjugated?

Sigo is the first-person singular present indicative of the verb seguir (to follow).

Seguir is irregular in the present tense. Some forms:

eu sigo – I follow
tu segues – you follow (singular, informal)
ele / ela segue – he / she follows
nós seguimos – we follow
vocês seguem – you follow (plural)
eles / elas seguem – they follow

In this sentence, seguir is used in the sense of to stick to / to follow (a routine, a plan), not physically walking behind someone.

So:

eu sigo uma rotina = I follow / keep to a routine

Why is it uma rotina simples and not uma simples rotina? Does adjective position matter?

Yes, adjective position in Portuguese can change emphasis and sometimes nuance.

Here:

uma rotina simples – a simple routine (plain, uncomplicated routine)
This is the neutral, most common order: noun + adjective.

Uma simples rotina is also possible but has a slightly different feel:

It can sound like just a routine / merely a routine, downplaying its importance.

In your sentence, we’re just describing the type of routine, so:

uma rotina simples is the most natural and neutral wording.

What does para do in para manter o foco? Could I use por instead?

Para here introduces purpose or intention:

para manter o foco = in order to maintain focus

In Portuguese:

para
- infinitive → very common way to express purpose
  - Estudo todos os dias para melhorar.
    I study every day to improve.

Por is not used for this purpose-meaning before an infinitive in this kind of sentence.
✗ por manter o foco would sound wrong here.

So:

para manter o foco = correct and natural
por manter o foco = incorrect in this context

Why is it manter o foco and not just manter foco?

In Portuguese, abstract nouns often take the definite article even when English would not use the.

manter o foco – literally maintain the focus, but it corresponds to English maintain focus / stay focused.

Could you say manter foco?

It’s possible, but manter o foco is much more idiomatic and natural in European Portuguese in this context.
Without the article it can sound a bit more telegraphic or technical, depending on the sentence.

So for everyday speech, manter o foco is the preferred form.

Could I say para me manter focado instead of para manter o foco? What’s the difference?

Yes, you could, and both are correct, but they focus on slightly different things:

para manter o foco – to maintain focus (focus as an abstract thing)
para me manter focado – to keep myself focused (describes your own state)

European Portuguese usually prefers the clitic before the verb:

para me manter focado (more typical in Portugal)
para manter-me focado (more formal/literary, but still correct)

Nuance:

manter o foco = more objective; about the focus itself.
me manter focado = more personal; about me staying in a focused state.

Both work in this sentence, you just choose based on the nuance you want.

What tense is sigo, and does it mean “I follow” or “I’m following” here?

Sigo is the present indicative.

Portuguese simple present has two main uses:

Present, ongoing actions
Habitual or regular actions

In this sentence, it describes a habitual action:

De manhã, eu sigo uma rotina simples…
= I follow / I have / I stick to a simple routine in the mornings (usually, as a habit).

English uses both I follow and I’m following for present, but here the meaning is clearly habitual, so I follow / I have is the natural translation.

If you wanted to stress an action in progress right now, Portuguese could use:

Estou a seguir uma rotina nova.
I’m following a new routine (right now / these days).

Is the comma after De manhã necessary?

Yes, it’s standard (and recommended) to use a comma when you place a time expression at the beginning of the sentence:

De manhã, eu sigo uma rotina simples…
À tarde, trabalho em casa.
À noite, leio um livro.

Without the comma:

De manhã eu sigo uma rotina simples…

You may see it written without a comma, but in careful writing, the comma is preferred because De manhã is an introductory adverbial phrase.

Why uma and not um? How do I know the gender of rotina?

Rotina is a feminine noun: a rotina (the routine).

The indefinite article must agree in gender:

um – masculine (um livro, um plano)
uma – feminine (uma rotina, uma casa)

General hint:

Nouns ending in -a are often feminine (a casa, a rotina, a janela), although there are exceptions.

So:

uma rotina simples is correct
✗ um rotina simples is incorrect

Can I change the word order to De manhã, eu sigo simples uma rotina or eu sigo de manhã uma rotina simples?

Only some changes are acceptable.

De manhã, eu sigo uma rotina simples… – original, fully natural.
De manhã, sigo uma rotina simples… – also natural (omitting eu).

But:

✗ De manhã, eu sigo simples uma rotina – wrong; the adjective simples should stay after rotina in this neutral meaning.
Eu sigo, de manhã, uma rotina simples. – grammatically possible; sounds more marked/emphatic, like you’re contrasting de manhã with other times.
Eu sigo de manhã uma rotina simples. – possible, but less natural; Portuguese generally prefers the time expression at the beginning or end:
- De manhã, eu sigo uma rotina simples.
- Eu sigo uma rotina simples de manhã.

Most natural choices are:

De manhã, eu sigo uma rotina simples…
Eu sigo uma rotina simples de manhã.

How do you pronounce de manhã and what’s special about nh and ã?

In European Portuguese, de manhã is typically pronounced something like:

[dɨ mɐˈɲɐ̃]

Key points:

de
- Often reduced, not like clear deh.
- More like dɨ (a short, weak vowel).
manhã
- nh = a single consonant sound /ɲ/, similar to ñ in Spanish niño or gn in Italian gnocchi.
- ã = a nasal vowel; you don’t fully pronounce an n; the vowel itself is nasalized.
- Final -hã sounds like a nasalized a, not like han.

Very roughly for an English ear:

de manhã ≈ “dih mah-NYAN” (but with a shorter, more closed first vowel and a nasal final sound).

Is there any difference between European and Brazilian Portuguese in a sentence like this?

Grammatically, the sentence is fine in both varieties:

De manhã, eu sigo uma rotina simples para manter o foco.

Main differences:

Pronunciation
- European: more vowel reduction (de → dɨ, para → pɾɐ).
- Brazilian: clearer vowels (de closer to “jee” or “dji”, para often “pá-ra”).
Style
- Brazilians might also say ter uma rotina simples (to have a simple routine) instead of seguir.
- They may say pra manter o foco in speech (contraction of para to pra), whereas in Portugal pra exists but is much less standard and more informal.

For European Portuguese, as you’re learning, the original sentence is perfectly natural as is.