Breakdown of Eu quero terminar o curso este ano.
Questions & Answers about Eu quero terminar o curso este ano.
In European Portuguese, you can drop the subject pronoun when the verb ending already makes it clear who the subject is.
- Eu quero terminar o curso este ano.
- Quero terminar o curso este ano.
Both are correct and natural.
With Eu:
- Slightly more emphasis on I (e.g. contrasting with someone else: Eu quero, ele não quer – I want to, he doesn’t).
Without Eu:
- Very common, especially in spoken Portuguese.
- Feels a bit more neutral and “flowing”.
So in most contexts, Quero terminar o curso este ano is perfectly fine and very natural.
Quero is the 1st person singular, present tense of the verb querer (to want).
- Infinitive: querer
Present tense (indicative) of querer in European Portuguese:
- eu quero
- tu queres
- ele / ela / você quer
- nós queremos
- vós quereis (rare in modern speech)
- eles / elas / vocês querem
It’s slightly irregular in spelling and pronunciation (the stem vowel changes: quer → quero / queres / quer).
In Portuguese, Eu quero… is less blunt than I want… often sounds in English, but context matters.
For talking about your own plans or intentions (as in your sentence):
Eu quero terminar o curso este ano. – Totally natural and not rude.For requests, especially with strangers or in formal contexts, Eu quero can sound direct:
- More polite:
- Queria um café, por favor. (I’d like a coffee, please.)
- Gostava de pedir um café.
- More polite:
To talk about your goals or plans, like finishing a course, Eu quero is normal and doesn’t sound impolite.
Both terminar and acabar can mean to finish, but they differ a bit in usage and tone.
terminar:
- Slightly more neutral/formal.
- Common in planned, structured contexts:
- terminar o curso
- terminar o projeto
- terminar o trabalho
acabar:
- More colloquial and very frequent in speech.
- Often used intransitively or with de:
- O curso acabou. – The course ended.
- Acabei o curso. – I finished the course.
- Acabei de terminar o curso. – I’ve just finished the course.
In this sentence, terminar o curso sounds very natural, especially in a “goal/plan” context. Acabar o curso would also be understood, but terminar fits slightly better in more neutral or formal speech.
Portuguese tends to use the definite article + noun instead of a possessive when the possessor is obvious from context.
- terminar o curso literally = to finish the course
But if you’re talking about your studies, it’s understood as my course.
You can say terminar o meu curso, and that is also correct. The difference:
- terminar o curso
- More general, but usually understood as my course if we’re talking about you.
- terminar o meu curso
- Slightly more explicit; can put a bit of emphasis on it being your course (e.g. contrast with someone else’s).
In everyday speech, terminar o curso is very common when context makes it clear whose course it is.
Because terminar is used transitively here: it takes a direct object with no preposition.
- terminar algo – to finish something
- terminar o curso – to finish the course
- terminar o trabalho – to finish the work
Some verbs require a preposition before their object (e.g. gostar de algo), but terminar does not in this structure. That’s why it’s terminar o curso, not terminar de o curso or similar.
Yes. In Portuguese, time expressions like este ano are quite flexible in position. All of these are correct:
- Eu quero terminar o curso este ano.
- Quero terminar o curso este ano.
- Este ano quero terminar o curso.
- Este ano, eu quero terminar o curso.
Differences are mostly about emphasis:
- Este ano quero terminar o curso.
- Emphasises this year as the frame: As for this year, I want to finish the course.
- Quero terminar o curso este ano.
- Focuses more on the action, with este ano just saying when.
All are natural in European Portuguese.
In European Portuguese:
- este ano = this year (the current year we’re in)
- esse ano = that year (already mentioned in the conversation, or closer to the listener)
- aquele ano = that year (over there) / that more distant year (in time or context)
So in your sentence:
- este ano is the normal choice because you mean the year we are currently in.
In Brazilian Portuguese, people very often say esse ano to mean this year in everyday speech, but in European Portuguese este ano is the standard for this year.
Very approximately (using rough English-like hints, not strict phonetics):
- Eu – like ehw (starting with a more closed “e”)
- quero – like KÉ-roo (first vowel like in bed, final -ro is relaxed)
- terminar – tair-mee-NAR (final -ar like ar in car, but shorter)
- o – often reduced, like a very short u in put
- curso – COOR-su (first syllable stressed, final o is weak, almost u)
- este – roughly ESH-t(ee) (final e very reduced)
- ano – UH-nu (both vowels quite reduced and central)
Actual European Portuguese phonetics (simplified):
- Eu – /ew/
- quero – /ˈkɛɾu/
- terminar – /tɨɾmiˈnaɾ/
- o – /u/ (very short)
- curso – /ˈkuɾsu/
- este – /ˈeʃt(ɨ)/
- ano – /ˈɐnu/
Spoken quickly, it flows something like:
Eu quero tɨɾmiNAR u CURsu ESHtɨ ɐnu (with many reduced vowels).
Yes, you can. The difference is in meaning:
Eu quero terminar o curso este ano.
- Focus on desire / intention: I want to finish the course this year.
Eu vou terminar o curso este ano.
- Focus on plan / near future: I am going to finish the course this year (sounds more like a prediction or firm plan).
So:
- quero terminar → what you want.
- vou terminar → what you expect or intend to actually happen (more like a future statement).
Both are common; choose based on what you want to emphasise.
Grammatically, yes: Terminarei o curso este ano is correct.
However, in everyday spoken Portuguese, the simple future (terminarei, farei, direi, etc.) is much less common than:
- ir + infinitive: vou terminar
- present tense when the context is clearly future: termino o curso para o ano (in some contexts)
Terminarei sounds:
- More formal or written, or
- A bit emphatic / dramatic in speech.
For natural, everyday speech, most people would say:
- Vou terminar o curso este ano.
- or keep your original:
- Quero terminar o curso este ano.
Yes. Two very common softer alternatives in European Portuguese:
Gostava de terminar o curso este ano.
Literally I would like/loved to finish the course this year.- Very common and polite, slightly less direct than Eu quero….
Queria terminar o curso este ano.
Literally I wanted to finish the course this year.- Used as a softening form, similar to English I would like to….
Both sound very natural and often more “polite” or modest than Eu quero terminar o curso este ano, especially in more formal or careful speech.
In Portuguese, every noun has a grammatical gender, masculine or feminine.
- curso is masculine.
- That’s why the article is o (masc. singular), not a (fem. singular).
Very often (not always), nouns ending in:
- -o → masculine (e.g. o curso, o carro, o livro)
- -a → feminine (e.g. a casa, a escola, a cama)
But there are many exceptions, so you usually learn the noun + article together:
- o curso
- o ano
- a cadeira
- a universidade
In your sentence, o curso correctly matches the masculine noun curso.
The sentence Eu quero terminar o curso este ano. is perfectly understandable and correct in both varieties.
Differences you might notice:
Este ano vs esse ano:
- In Brazil, many people say esse ano in everyday speech to mean this year.
- In Portugal, este ano is the standard for this year.
Pronunciation:
- Brazilian Portuguese has more open, clear vowels.
- European Portuguese has more reduced, “swallowed” unstressed vowels.
But grammatically and lexically, your sentence is fine in both European and Brazilian Portuguese. In Portugal, este ano is the most natural choice.