Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Eu olho para a árvore no jardim.

Eu olho para a árvore no jardim.

I look at the tree in the garden.

Breakdown of Eu olho para a árvore no jardim.

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Questions & Answers about Eu olho para a árvore no jardim.

Why is the subject Eu (I) written? Can I just say Olho para a árvore no jardim?

In Portuguese (including in Portugal), subject pronouns like eu are often optional, because the verb ending already shows the person.

Eu olho para a árvore no jardim. = I look at the tree in the garden.
Olho para a árvore no jardim. = Same meaning; the subject is understood as I from the form olho.

You usually include eu when:

You want to emphasize the subject:
- Eu olho para a árvore, mas tu olhas para o carro.
  I look at the tree, but you look at the car.
You need to avoid ambiguity in a longer context.

So yes, Olho para a árvore no jardim is perfectly correct and very natural.

What exactly does olho mean here? Is it related to olhar and also to the noun olho (eye)?

Yes, there are two different words spelled the same way:

olho (from the verb olhar)
- Verb form: 1st person singular, present tense: eu olho = I look.
- Infinitive: olhar (to look).
olho (noun)
- Means eye.
- Example: o olho = the eye; os olhos = the eyes.

In your sentence:

Eu olho para a árvore no jardim.
olho = the verb form of olhar (I look), not the noun eye.

Why is it olho para a árvore and not olho a árvore or something else? How does para work here?

With the verb olhar (to look), Portuguese normally uses the preposition para to mean look at:

olhar para alguém = to look at someone
olhar para alguma coisa = to look at something

So:

olhar para a árvore = to look at the tree

olhar a does exist but is:

More formal / literary, and
Much less common in everyday European Portuguese.

In everyday speech from Portugal, olhar para is your default for look at:

Eu olho para a janela. = I look at the window.
Eles olham para o céu. = They look at the sky.

Can I use vejo instead of olho? What is the difference between olhar and ver?

Yes, you can use vejo, but it changes the meaning slightly:

olhar (para) = to look (at) – you are directing your eyes intentionally.
- Eu olho para a árvore. = I look at the tree.
ver = to see – you perceive something visually, not necessarily on purpose.
- Eu vejo a árvore. = I see the tree.

So:

Eu olho para a árvore no jardim.
I deliberately direct my gaze at the tree in the garden.
Eu vejo a árvore no jardim.
I see the tree in the garden (it is within my field of vision).

Both are correct, but they are not identical in meaning.

Why is there an a before árvore? Why not just Eu olho para árvore?

In Portuguese, countable nouns almost always take a definite or indefinite article, unless there is a special reason not to.

Here:

a árvore = the tree (definite article, feminine singular)

You normally need that article:

Eu olho para a árvore. ✅
Eu olho para árvore. ❌ (sounds wrong or very foreign)

Other examples:

Vejo o carro. = I see the car.
Compramos uma casa. = We buy a house.

So a is just the regular definite article that goes with árvore.

Why is it a árvore and not o árvore? How do I know the gender?

árvore is feminine in Portuguese, so it takes the feminine article a:

a árvore = the tree
as árvores = the trees

There is no strict rule that tells you the gender just from the ending in this case; it is mostly memorized.

Some hints:

Many words ending in -e can be either masculine or feminine:
- o nome (the name) – masculine
- a ponte (the bridge) – feminine
- a árvore (the tree) – feminine

When you learn a noun, it helps to learn it together with its article:

a árvore, o carro, a mesa, o jardim.

What is no in no jardim? Is that one word or two?

no is a contraction of the preposition em (in/on/at) + the masculine singular article o (the):

em + o = no

So:

no jardim = em o jardim = in the garden

But em o is almost never written; the normal written and spoken form is the contraction no.

Other related contractions:

em + a = na → na escola (in the school)
em + os = nos → nos jardins (in the gardens)
em + as = nas → nas árvores (on the trees / in the trees, depending on context)

Why is it no jardim and not para o jardim or ao jardim?

Each preposition gives a different idea:

no jardim = in the garden (location; from em + o)
- Eu olho para a árvore no jardim.
  I look at the tree in the garden.
para o jardim = to the garden (movement or direction)
- Vou para o jardim. = I go to the garden.
ao jardim = to the garden, usually as an indirect object or direction (from a + o)
- Vou ao jardim. = I go to the garden.
  (In Portugal, ir ao is very common for going to a place.)

In your sentence you are not moving to the garden, you are just saying where the tree is, so you use em → no jardim.

Can I say Eu estou a olhar para a árvore no jardim instead? What is the difference from Eu olho para a árvore no jardim?

Yes, you can. In European Portuguese:

Eu olho para a árvore no jardim.
Present simple. Can mean:
- a habitual action: I (often) look at the tree in the garden.
- a current action, depending on context: I am (now) looking at the tree in the garden.
Eu estou a olhar para a árvore no jardim.
Present progressive (very common in Portugal).
- Focuses on what is happening right now: I am looking at the tree in the garden (at this moment).

Both are grammatical. The second one makes the idea of a current ongoing action clearer.

How do you pronounce Eu olho para a árvore no jardim in European Portuguese?

Approximate pronunciation (Portugal), using English-like hints:

Eu → like “ehw” or “eu”, a bit like English “eh” + “oo” compressed [ew].
olho → “O-lyu”
- lh is a single sound, like the “lli” in English “million”.
- Stress is on o: Ó-lho.
para → in Portugal often sounds closer to “pɐ-rɐ”, something like “puh-ruh”, both vowels reduced.
a → often very short, almost like “ɐ”, a quick neutral sound.
árvore → “AR-vu-rë”
- Stress on ÁR.
- Final -e is usually a light “ë” sound, not fully like English “ee”.
no → close to English “no”, but shorter.
jardim → roughly “zhar-DIH~”
- j = like the s in “measure”.
- Stress on -dim.
- Final m nasalizes the vowel: -im is nasal, like French “vin” but with i.

Spoken quickly, it tends to link together:

Eu olho para a árvore no jardim.
→ something like: “Ew Ó-lyu pɐrɐ AR-vu-rë nu zhar-DIH~”.

Why does árvore have an accent on the á?

The acute accent in árvore has two main functions:

It shows where the stress is:
- ÁR-vo-re: the stress falls on the first syllable ÁR.
It indicates the quality of the vowel:
- á is an open [a] sound (like in English “father”, depending on accent).

Without the accent, arvore would:

Be read with the stress on the second syllable by default (ar-VÓ-re, which is wrong), and
Not follow standard spelling rules.

So the accent tells you both where to put the stress and how to pronounce that vowel.

If I want to say I look at the trees in the garden, how does the sentence change?

You need the plural for trees:

a árvore → as árvores (the tree → the trees)

The full sentence:

Eu olho para as árvores no jardim.
I look at the trees in the garden.

Changes:

Article a (feminine singular) → as (feminine plural)
Noun árvore → árvores

Everything else stays the same.

Can I change the word order, for example Eu olho no jardim para a árvore? Does it mean the same?

Eu olho no jardim para a árvore is unusual and mainly sounds like:

I look in the garden for the tree (or I look in the garden, towards the tree), depending on intonation.

The normal and clear way to say I look at the tree in the garden is:

Eu olho para a árvore no jardim.

Word order in Portuguese is relatively flexible, but:

Prepositions tend to keep their normal combinations:
- olhar para algo (look at something)
- em algum lugar / no jardim (in some place / in the garden)

When you shuffle them too much, the meaning either changes or becomes unnatural.