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Nós queremos continuar a estudar português juntos.

Nós queremos continuar a estudar português juntos.
We want to continue studying Portuguese together.

Breakdown of Nós queremos continuar a estudar português juntos.

querer
to want
nós
we
estudar
to study
a
to
junto
together
o português
the Portuguese
continuar
to remain
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Questions & Answers about Nós queremos continuar a estudar português juntos.

Why do we say “continuar a estudar” and not just “continuar estudar”?

In European Portuguese, the usual structure after continuar (to continue) is:

  • continuar a + infinitive

So:

  • continuar a estudar = to continue studying / to keep studying

You will very often hear and see:

  • continuar a trabalhar – to continue working
  • continuar a viver aqui – to continue living here

Saying “continuar estudar” without the a is unusual and sounds incorrect in standard European Portuguese. The a here is just a preposition that’s required by the verb continuar when it’s followed by another verb in the infinitive.

Is “Nós” (we) really necessary here? Could I just say “Queremos continuar a estudar português juntos”?

You can absolutely drop “Nós”:

  • Queremos continuar a estudar português juntos.

Portuguese is a “pro‑drop” language: subject pronouns (eu, tu, nós, etc.) are often omitted because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is.

  • queremos can only mean “we want”, so nós is clear from the verb ending ‑mos.

You normally keep Nós only for:

  • emphasis: Nós queremos continuar… (We want to continue…)
  • contrast: Nós queremos…, mas eles não querem. (We want to…, but they don’t.)
How is “queremos” formed, and what are the other forms of “querer” in the present tense?

Queremos is the 1st person plural (we) form of the verb querer (to want) in the present tense.

Present tense of querer:

  • eu quero – I want
  • tu queres – you want (singular, informal)
  • ele / ela quer – he / she wants
  • nós queremos – we want
  • vocês querem – you want (plural)
  • eles / elas querem – they want

So in the sentence:

  • Nós queremos continuar… = We want to continue…
Why is there no article before “português” here? Why not “o português”?

Both are possible in Portuguese, but the article is often dropped with languages after certain verbs like falar and estudar.

In this sentence, the most natural options are:

  • …continuar a estudar português…
  • …continuar a estudar o português…

The difference is subtle:

  • estudar português – more general, like “study Portuguese (as a language)”
  • estudar o português – can feel a bit more like “study the Portuguese language” (slightly more specific or formal)

In everyday speech here, “estudar português” (without the article) is very common and perfectly natural.

Why is “português” not capitalized, when in English “Portuguese” is?

In Portuguese:

  • names of languages and nationalities are not capitalized (unless they start a sentence).

So you write:

  • português, inglês, francês, espanhol

In English, these are capitalized (Portuguese, English, French, Spanish), but in Portuguese they’re treated like ordinary adjectives/nouns and stay lowercase in the middle of a sentence.

What exactly does “juntos” agree with, and when would it become “juntas”?

Juntos is an adjective meaning “together” and it must agree with the people it describes:

  • juntos – masculine plural, or mixed group (at least one male)
  • juntas – feminine plural (all female)

In “Nós queremos continuar a estudar português juntos”, juntos refers to nós:

  • if the group is mixed / all male → juntos
  • if the group is all female → juntas

So a group of only women would say:

  • Nós queremos continuar a estudar português juntas.
Does “juntos” have to be at the end of the sentence, or can it go somewhere else?

It doesn’t have to be at the end, though that’s very natural. You could say:

  • Nós queremos continuar a estudar português juntos.
  • Nós queremos continuar juntos a estudar português.
  • Nós queremos continuar a estudar juntos português. (possible, but less usual)

The most neutral and common positions are:

  1. At the end:

    • …estudar português juntos.

  2. Right after “continuar”:

    • …continuar juntos a estudar português.

Moving juntos too far away from the verb or object can sound a bit awkward, so stick to those two positions while you’re learning.

Could this sentence be “Nós queremos continuar a estudar o português juntos”? Is that still correct?

Yes, that’s also correct:

  • Nós queremos continuar a estudar o português juntos.

As mentioned earlier, using “o português” puts a small emphasis on the language as an object of study: the Portuguese language.

So:

  • estudar português – “study Portuguese” (general)
  • estudar o português – “study the Portuguese language” (slightly more specific/formal)

In practice, both are fine; the version without the article is more frequent in everyday speech.

How would this sentence typically look in Brazilian Portuguese? Is there a difference?

In Brazil, you might hear two very natural versions:

  1. Keeping the European structure:

    • Nós queremos continuar a estudar português juntos.

  2. Using the gerund, which is very common in Brazil:

    • Nós queremos continuar estudando português juntos.

The main difference:

  • European Portuguese: strongly prefers “continuar a + infinitive”
    • continuar a estudar
  • Brazilian Portuguese: often uses either “continuar a estudar” or “continuar estudando”

Both forms are understood on both sides of the Atlantic, but the gerund form (“continuar estudando”) sounds very Brazilian.

Could we say “Nós gostaríamos de continuar a estudar português juntos” instead? How does that differ from “Nós queremos…”?

Yes, that’s a very natural sentence:

  • Nós gostaríamos de continuar a estudar português juntos.

Difference in tone:

  • Nós queremos… – “We want…” (more direct)
  • Nós gostaríamos de… – “We would like to…” (softer, more polite or tentative)

Use “queremos” for a clear, straightforward statement.
Use “gostaríamos de” when you want to sound more polite or less forceful, similar to English “would like to”.

Why “estudar” and not “aprender” here? What’s the difference between estudar and aprender?
  • estudar = to study (the process: doing exercises, reading, practicing)
  • aprender = to learn (the result: actually acquiring the knowledge/skill)

In “continuar a estudar português”, the focus is on continuing the activity of studying.

If you said:

  • Nós queremos continuar a aprender português juntos.

you’d be focusing more on continuing to learn / to make progress, not specifically on the act of studying (books, courses, etc.). Both are possible, but for “keep studying Portuguese together”, estudar is the most accurate choice.

Do we ever use “de continuar” instead of “continuar” here, like “queremos de continuar”?

No. With querer, you do not use “de” before the next verb:

  • Correct:
    • Nós queremos continuar a estudar português juntos.
  • Incorrect:
    • Nós queremos de continuar a estudar português juntos. ✗

Some other verbs do take de before an infinitive:

  • gostar de:
    • Nós gostamos de estudar português.
  • precisar de:
    • Nós precisamos de estudar mais.

But querer goes directly with another verb:

  • querer + infinitive:
    • querer estudar, querer viajar, querer continuar, etc.