Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): A Ana estuda na faculdade com o Pedro.

You can omit the article (just Ana) in more formal or written styles, in lists, titles, or sometimes for emphasis, but everyday spoken Portuguese in Portugal almost always uses the article with familiar people’s names.

Why do we also say o Pedro instead of just Pedro?

It’s the same phenomenon as with a Ana, but with the masculine article:

a = feminine singular definite article
o = masculine singular definite article

So o Pedro is the normal way to say Pedro in everyday European Portuguese. Again, it literally looks like the Pedro, but to a native speaker it’s just the natural way of referring to him.

As with Ana, you can find just Pedro (without o) in more formal writing, headings, etc., but in normal conversation o Pedro is standard in Portugal.

Could I drop the articles and say Ana estuda na faculdade com Pedro? Is that wrong?

It’s not wrong grammatically, but it sounds marked in European Portuguese.

Ana estuda na faculdade com Pedro would sound quite formal, written, or stylistic in Portugal, not like everyday speech.
In spoken European Portuguese, A Ana estuda na faculdade com o Pedro is the default, natural version.

In some varieties of Brazilian Portuguese, omitting the article with names (Ana, Pedro) is more common and neutral, so you’ll see and hear that more naturally in Brazil than in Portugal.

What exactly does na mean here, and how is it different from em a or em by itself?

Na is a contraction of the preposition em (in/at/on) + the feminine singular article a (the).

em + a = na → na faculdade
By analogy: em + o = no (e.g. no carro), em + as = nas, em + os = nos

So in full form, na faculdade = em a faculdade, but em a almost never appears; it’s always contracted to na in standard usage.

Using just em alone (without an article) would change the meaning or sound incomplete here; you normally say na faculdade, not em faculdade, when you mean “at college/university.”

Does na mean “in” or “at”? How do I know which English preposition to use?

Portuguese em covers both English in and at (and sometimes on). Context decides the English translation.

Estuda na faculdade → usually studies at college / at university
Está na faculdade → is at college / at university (location)
Trabalha no banco → works at the bank

So you don’t choose between two separate Portuguese prepositions; you normally use em (contracted to na/no/nas/nos) and then pick in or at when translating into English according to what sounds natural in English.

What’s the difference between faculdade and universidade in Portugal?

Literally:

universidade = university (the whole institution)
faculdade = a faculty/school within a university (e.g. Faculdade de Direito = Law School/Faculty)

However, in everyday speech in Portugal, faculdade is often used loosely to mean university / college in general, especially when talking about being in higher education:

A Ana está na faculdade = Ana is at uni / in college (not specifying which university or which faculty).

If you want to be more precise about the institution, you’d say na universidade de Coimbra, na Universidade do Porto, etc.

Could I say A Ana estuda com o Pedro na faculdade instead? Does changing the word order change the meaning?

You can say both:

A Ana estuda na faculdade com o Pedro.
A Ana estuda com o Pedro na faculdade.

Both are grammatically correct and usually mean the same thing. The difference is a very slight shift in focus: Portuguese tends to place “new” or more important information later in the sentence, so:

…na faculdade com o Pedro can slightly highlight the person she studies with.
…com o Pedro na faculdade can slightly highlight the place.

In normal conversation, though, both orders are fine and most people won’t feel a big difference.

Does com o Pedro mean they are in the same class, the same course, or just the same university?

On its own, com o Pedro is vague; it just says she studies with Pedro. The exact relationship is context-dependent:

They might literally study together at a table or in a group.
They might be in the same class or degree course.
They might just attend the same faculty/university and often study together.

If you want to be more specific, you’d usually add extra detail, for example:

A Ana está na mesma turma que o Pedro. – in the same class as Pedro
A Ana estuda o mesmo curso que o Pedro. – studies the same degree as Pedro

Why is the verb estuda singular? In English we have two people (Ana and Pedro), so I would expect something like estudam.

In this sentence, the subject is only A Ana. Com o Pedro is a prepositional phrase (with Pedro), not part of the grammatical subject.

So:

Subject: A Ana → third person singular
Verb: estuda → third person singular form of estudar

If you really want a plural subject like Ana and Pedro study, you must make both of them part of the subject:

A Ana e o Pedro estudam na faculdade. – Ana and Pedro study at college.

How would I say Ana and Pedro study at college (without the idea of “with”)?

The most direct equivalent is:

A Ana e o Pedro estudam na faculdade.

Here:

A Ana e o Pedro is the plural subject.
estudam is the third person plural of estudar.
na faculdade keeps the same na = em + a contraction.

In Portuguese, when would I use estuda versus something like está a estudar?

In European Portuguese:

estuda (simple present) is used mainly for habitual actions or general facts:
- A Ana estuda na faculdade. – She is a university student / she studies at college.
- O Pedro estuda muito. – Pedro studies a lot.
está a estudar (present progressive: estar a + infinitive) is used for actions happening right now:
- A Ana está a estudar com o Pedro. – Ana is (right now) studying with Pedro.

So your original sentence with estuda usually describes her status (she’s a college student), not a temporary action right this minute.

Why is there no pronoun like ela in the sentence? Could I say Ela estuda na faculdade com o Pedro?

Portuguese is a pro‑drop language: subject pronouns (eu, tu, ele/ela, etc.) are often omitted because the verb ending (or the context) already shows who the subject is.

In your sentence, the subject is clearly expressed as A Ana, so adding ela would be redundant:

A Ana estuda na faculdade com o Pedro. – normal
Ela estuda na faculdade com o Pedro. – also correct, but now “she” refers to someone already mentioned in the context (not named here).

You normally don’t say A Ana ela estuda… in standard Portuguese; that doubling (name + pronoun) is only used in some dialects or for very strong emphasis in speech.

Is this sentence the same in Brazilian Portuguese, or would a Brazilian say it differently?

The sentence is perfectly understandable in Brazil, and fully correct grammatically:

A Ana estuda na faculdade com o Pedro.

Main differences are in usage and accent, not structure:

In many Brazilian varieties, especially in more formal or standard speech, people more often omit the article with first names, saying:
- Ana estuda na faculdade com Pedro.
In other regions of Brazil, using articles with names (a Ana, o Pedro) is also common, much like in Portugal.

So both patterns occur in Brazil, depending on region and style, but in Portugal with articles (a Ana, o Pedro) is the neutral, everyday choice.

How do gender and number agreement work in a faculdade, o Pedro, A Ana and estuda?

Each element agrees in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural):

A Ana:
- a = feminine singular article
- Ana = feminine singular name
o Pedro:
- o = masculine singular article
- Pedro = masculine singular name
a faculdade:
- a = feminine singular article
- faculdade = feminine singular noun
estuda:
- third person singular form of estudar, agreeing with the singular subject (A Ana).

If the subject were plural (A Ana e o Pedro), the verb would also be plural: estudam.