Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Depois do exame, o alívio é enorme.

You could say depois de o exame if you were speaking very slowly for emphasis or in poetry, but in normal speech and writing it must be depois do exame.

What’s the difference between depois de and depois do?

Depois de is just after + a verb or a general idea; depois do is after the + a specific noun.

Depois de estudar, fui dormir.
After studying, I went to sleep. (verb in the infinitive: estudar)
Depois do exame, fui dormir.
After the exam, I went to sleep. (specific noun: o exame)

So:

depois de + infinitive: depois de fazer o exame (after taking the exam)
depois de + article + noun → contraction:
- depois do exame (after the exam)
- depois da prova (after the test)
- depois dos exames (after the exams)

Could I also say O alívio é enorme depois do exame? Is the word order flexible?

Yes. Both are correct:

Depois do exame, o alívio é enorme.
O alívio é enorme depois do exame.

In Portuguese, adverbial time expressions (hoje, amanhã, depois do exame, à noite) can go at the beginning or the end of the sentence.

Putting Depois do exame at the beginning slightly emphasizes the time frame:

Depois do exame, o alívio é enorme.
→ The important point is what happens after the exam.
O alívio é enorme depois do exame.
→ The important point is how big the relief is, and then you add when.

Why is there a comma after Depois do exame?

Because Depois do exame is a fronted adverbial phrase of time. In European Portuguese, when you put this kind of phrase at the beginning of the sentence, it is normally followed by a comma:

Depois do exame, o alívio é enorme.
À noite, estudo português.
No verão, faz muito calor.

If you move the time expression to the end, you don’t use a comma:

O alívio é enorme depois do exame.
Estudo português à noite.

Why do we say o alívio with the article o? Could I just say Alívio é enorme?

In Portuguese, singular countable and many abstract nouns usually take a definite article (o, a, os, as) even when English would omit it.

O alívio é enorme.
Literally: The relief is enormous.

Without the article (Alívio é enorme) it sounds wrong or very odd; it’s not how native speakers would say it.

Compare:

A felicidade é importante. – Happiness is important.
O medo é natural. – Fear is natural.
O amor é complicado. – Love is complicated.

So: keep the article o in o alívio here.

Why do we use é (from ser) and not está (from estar)? Isn’t relief temporary?

Grammatically, we choose ser here because we’re describing a characteristic/quality of o alívio, not its location or a changing condition of a person.

O alívio é enorme.
→ The relief (as a feeling/event) is enormous. (quality)

If you talked about a person feeling relieved, you’d use estar:

Depois do exame, estou muito aliviado.
After the exam, I am very relieved.

So:

ser
- adjective → describes the nature or degree of a thing:
  O alívio é grande / é enorme / é imediato.
estar
- adjective → describes someone’s current state:
  Estou aliviado.

What gender are exame and alívio, and how do I know?

Both exame and alívio are masculine nouns:

o exame → do exame
o alívio → o alívio é enorme

Gender in Portuguese is mostly lexical—you have to learn it with the word, but there are some useful patterns:

Many nouns ending in -o are masculine: o livro, o carro, o alívio.
Many nouns ending in -a are feminine: a casa, a prova.

Exame ends in -e, which is less predictable; you must learn its gender: o exame.

Always memorize new nouns with their article: o exame, a prova, o alívio, a alegria.

Could I say Depois de exame instead of Depois do exame?

In this context, no. You want to refer to a specific exam, so you need the article:

✅ Depois do exame, o alívio é enorme.
❌ Depois de exame, o alívio é enorme. (ungrammatical here)

De exame can exist in other constructions, usually as a kind of adjective:

resultados de exame – exam results
marcação de exame – booking of an exam

But when you mean “after the exam”, you must use depois do exame.

What’s the difference between o alívio é enorme and fico muito aliviado?

Both express a similar idea, but from different angles:

Depois do exame, o alívio é enorme.
Focus on the feeling of relief itself as a big thing.
Depois do exame, fico muito aliviado.
Focus on you / someone becoming relieved.

Common patterns:

o alívio é… → grande, enorme, imediato, incrível
ficar aliviado → fico / ficas / fica / ficamos / ficam aliviados

Example:

Depois do exame, fico muito aliviado. – I (male) feel very relieved.
Depois do exame, fico muito aliviada. – I (female) feel very relieved.

Is enorme an adjective? Can I use muito grande instead?

Yes, enorme is an adjective meaning huge / enormous. You can use muito grande instead, with a slightly weaker tone:

O alívio é enorme. – The relief is enormous. (stronger, more emphatic)
O alívio é muito grande. – The relief is very big. (natural, slightly softer)

Both are perfectly correct. Word order is:

O alívio é enorme.
O alívio é muito grande.

You can also put the adjective before the noun for stylistic emphasis:

Depois do exame, é um enorme alívio.
(literally: it is an enormous relief)

How do you pronounce Depois do exame, o alívio é enorme in European Portuguese?

Approximate breakdown (European Portuguese):

Depois – /də-POISH/
- unstressed de- like English duh; -pois like poish.
do – /du/
- close to English du in dude but shorter.
exame – /e-ZA-m(ɨ)/
- e- like eh
- -xa- is pronounced like za (voiced s: z)
- final -me is a very reduced /mɨ/, often almost just /m/.
o – /u/
- like English oo in food, but shorter.
alívio – /a-LI-vyu/
- a- like uh/ah
- lí- stressed syllable: LEE
- -vio like vyu (similar to view but shorter).
é – /ɛ/
- open é, like eh.
enorme – /i-NÓR-m(ɨ)/
- e- like ee but shorter;
- -nor- stressed: like English NOR;
- final -me again very reduced.

Spoken quickly, you will hear a lot of linking and reduction, for example:

Depois do exame → /də-POISH-du-e-ZA-mɨ/

What’s the difference between exame and prova?

Both can mean exam/test, but usage varies:

exame
- often used for official, final, or medical exams:
  - exame final – final exam
  - exame nacional – national exam
  - exame de sangue – blood test
prova
- common for school/university tests and competitions:
  - prova escrita – written test
  - prova oral – oral exam
  - prova de atletismo – athletics event

In your sentence, if it’s a big official exam, exame is very natural:

Depois do exame, o alívio é enorme.

If it were just a classroom test, Depois da prova, o alívio é enorme could also be used.

How would the sentence change if we talked about several exams?

You make both the noun and the article plural:

Depois dos exames, o alívio é enorme.
After the exams, the relief is enormous.

Changes:

do exame → dos exames
- de + os = dos
- plural of exame is exames.

The rest of the sentence stays the same:

o alívio (relief in general, still singular and abstract)
é enorme (still agrees with o alívio)

Is Depois do exame, o alívio é enorme formal, informal, or neutral?

It’s neutral. You can use this sentence:

in everyday conversation
in writing (emails, messages)
in more formal contexts, like a report or essay

It doesn’t use slang or very formal vocabulary; it’s standard, natural European Portuguese.