Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Para nós aprendermos melhor, a professora fala mais devagar. - For us to learn better, the teacher speaks more slowly.

Impersonal infinitive (no subject marked):
- Para aprender melhor, a professora fala mais devagar.
- Literally: To learn better, the teacher speaks more slowly.
Personal infinitive (subject is marked on the verb):
- Para nós aprendermos melhor, a professora fala mais devagar.
- Literally: For us to learn better, the teacher speaks more slowly.

In the original sentence, the speaker wants to be explicit that it is “we” who learn, not the teacher.
The personal infinitive “aprendermos” makes the subject clearer and slightly more emphatic than the bare infinitive aprender. Both versions are grammatically correct, but “nós aprendermos” is more explicit and slightly more formal/precise.

What exactly is the personal infinitive, and how does “aprendermos” work?

The personal infinitive is a special Portuguese form where the infinitive verb is inflected for person and number.

For aprender (to learn):

(eu) aprender
(tu) aprenderes
(ele/ela/você) aprender
(nós) aprendermos
(vós) aprenderdes
(eles/elas/vocês) aprenderem

In “para nós aprendermos”:

para = for / in order that
nós = we
aprendermos = infinitive, but marked for 1st person plural

It’s used when the subject of the infinitive is explicit or different from the main clause’s subject.
Here, the main clause subject is a professora (the teacher), but the infinitive’s subject is nós (we). The personal infinitive makes that relationship clear.

If “aprendermos” already shows the person, why do we also say “nós”? Isn’t that redundant?

Grammatically, “aprendermos” already indicates 1st person plural (we), so you can omit “nós”:

Para aprendermos melhor, a professora fala mais devagar.

Adding “nós”:

Para nós aprendermos melhor, a professora fala mais devagar.

Reasons to include “nós”:

Clarity: makes the subject very explicit, especially in speech.
Emphasis: highlights that we are the ones learning.
Style: more natural in some contexts, especially spoken or didactic language.

Both forms are correct. The version without “nós” often sounds a bit more formal or written.

Could we say “para que nós aprendamos melhor” instead? What’s the difference?

Yes:

Para que nós aprendamos melhor, a professora fala mais devagar.

This uses the present subjunctive (aprendamos) instead of the personal infinitive.

Differences:

Grammar structure
- Personal infinitive:
  Para (nós) aprendermos melhor…
- Subjunctive clause with “para que”:
  Para que nós aprendamos melhor…
Tone / style
- Personal infinitive is more natural and common in modern Portuguese, especially in speech and neutral writing.
- “Para que + subjunctive” can sound more formal, literary, or slightly heavier.
Meaning
- Both express purpose: “so that we learn better”.
- No real change in meaning; mainly a stylistic choice.

In everyday European Portuguese, “para (nós) aprendermos melhor” is usually preferred.

Why is it “fala” (present) and not something like “falará” or “vai falar” (future)?

Portuguese often uses the simple present to describe habitual or general actions, not only actions happening right now.

A professora fala mais devagar.
= The teacher speaks more slowly (as a habit / in general / in this type of situation).

So the sentence means:

Whenever the goal is for us to learn better, the teacher (typically) speaks more slowly.

If you said:

A professora falará mais devagar. / A professora vai falar mais devagar.
= The teacher will speak more slowly (future event),

you would be talking about the future, not about a general habit or current teaching strategy.

Why “mais devagar” and not “mais lentamente”? Are they the same?

Both are correct and very close in meaning:

mais devagar = more slowly (more colloquial, very common)
mais lentamente = more slowly (more formal / neutral)

Details:

devagar is an adverb meaning slowly. It is invariable (no gender or number changes).
- Ela fala devagar. – She speaks slowly.
- Ele anda devagar. – He walks slowly.
lentamente is also an adverb, derived from lento (slow).

In everyday spoken European Portuguese, “mais devagar” is more natural than “mais lentamente”.

Why is “para” used here and not “por” or something else?

Para is the standard preposition to express purpose / intention:

Para nós aprendermos melhor = in order for us to learn better / so that we learn better.

Rough guide:

para → purpose, aim, destination
- Estudo para aprender. – I study (in order) to learn.
por → cause, reason, means, movement through
- Faço isto por ti. – I do this because of you / for your sake.
- Passo por Lisboa. – I pass through Lisbon.

Here we are talking about the goal of the teacher speaking slowly, so para is the correct choice.

You could also say:

A fim de nós aprendermos melhor, a professora fala mais devagar.

but “a fim de” is more formal; “para” is the natural everyday choice.

Is the comma after “Para nós aprendermos melhor” necessary?

Yes, it is standard and recommended.

Para nós aprendermos melhor, a professora fala mais devagar.

The initial part “Para nós aprendermos melhor” is an adverbial clause of purpose placed at the beginning of the sentence. In Portuguese, such introductory clauses are normally followed by a comma.

You could also change the order:

A professora fala mais devagar para nós aprendermos melhor.

In this order, the comma is usually not used, and it still sounds natural.

Is this specifically European Portuguese, or would Brazilians say it differently?

The sentence is perfectly correct in both European and Brazilian Portuguese, but usage may differ slightly.

European Portuguese (natural):

Para (nós) aprendermos melhor, a professora fala mais devagar.

Brazilian Portuguese (very common alternative):

Para a gente aprender melhor, a professora fala mais devagar.

Notes:

In Brazil, “a gente” is extremely common instead of “nós” in speech.
The personal infinitive remains, but now agrees with “a gente” (which grammatically behaves like ele/ela):
- a gente aprender (not aprendermos).

So Brazilians could say the original sentence, but in informal spoken Brazilian Portuguese, “a gente” is more typical than “nós aprendermos”.

Could we simply say “Para aprendermos melhor, a professora fala mais devagar”? Does it change anything?

Yes, that version is correct:

Para aprendermos melhor, a professora fala mais devagar.

Difference:

With “nós”:
Para nós aprendermos melhor…
→ More explicit, slightly more emphatic, very clear who “we” are.
Without “nós”:
Para aprendermos melhor…
→ A bit more concise, often slightly more formal/written in tone.

Meaning-wise, they are the same: both clearly refer to “we” thanks to the verb ending -mos in aprendermos.

Could I move “nós” to another position, like “para aprendermos nós melhor”?

No, that would sound unnatural and incorrect in standard Portuguese.

Standard patterns are:

Para nós aprendermos melhor…
Para aprendermos melhor…

You can sometimes put the pronoun after the infinitive in very specific, marked contexts (often poetic or very emphatic), but “para aprendermos nós melhor” is not a normal, acceptable structure here.

So, keep “nós” directly before the personal infinitive if you use it:

✅ Para nós aprendermos melhor, a professora fala mais devagar.
✅ Para aprendermos melhor, a professora fala mais devagar.
❌ Para aprendermos nós melhor, a professora fala mais devagar.