Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): A Ana tem praticado corrida porque quer fazer uma maratona. - Ana has been practising running because she wants to do a marathon.

It’s normal in subject position:
- A Ana tem praticado corrida.
You also often hear it in everyday speech when referring to someone:
- Ontem vi a Ana. – I saw Ana yesterday.

You don’t use the article when you directly address the person:

Ana, vem cá! – Ana, come here!

So A Ana here is natural European Portuguese and doesn’t change the meaning; it’s just the typical way to talk about her.

What tense is tem praticado? How is it formed?

Tem praticado is the pretérito perfeito composto in Portuguese.

It’s formed like this:

ter (present tense) + past participle

For this sentence:

Verb ter (to have), 3rd person singular: tem
Past participle of praticar (to practise): praticado

So:

tem praticado = has practised / has been practising

Full breakdown:

Eu tenho praticado
Tu tens praticado
Ele / Ela / Você tem praticado
Nós temos praticado
Eles / Elas / Vocês têm praticado

Is tem praticado the same as “has been practising” in English?

It’s similar, but not exactly the same.

In European Portuguese, pretérito perfeito composto (tem praticado) usually suggests:

an action that has happened repeatedly or regularly up to now:
- A Ana tem praticado corrida.
  = Ana has been practising running (repeatedly, as a habit, over a period).

In English, “has been practising” can mean:

continuous activity (she’s been training constantly), or
repeated activity over time.

So tem praticado is closest to “has been practising (regularly)”, with a focus on repeated practice rather than one long uninterrupted action.

What’s the difference between A Ana tem praticado corrida and A Ana pratica corrida?

Both are correct but the nuance is different:

A Ana tem praticado corrida.
- Focus on the recent period up to now.
- Suggests she has recently started or has recently been active in this, likely more than before.
- Matches something like:
  - “Ana has been practising running.”
A Ana pratica corrida.
- Simple statement of habit or general fact.
- No particular focus on “recently”; it’s just part of what she does.
- Roughly:
  - “Ana practises running.” / “Ana runs (as a sport).”

So you choose:

tem praticado when you want to stress recent, repeated practice;
pratica when you want a timeless, habitual statement.

Why is it corrida and not a verb like correr here?

In the sentence, corrida is a noun meaning “running” or “a run / race”, used as a sport:

praticar corrida = to practise running (as a sport)

You can’t say *tem praticado correr. After praticar, you normally use:

a noun → praticar desporto, praticar yoga, praticar corrida
or a general idea of an activity: praticar guitarra, praticar piano (practice the guitar/piano)

So:

tem praticado corrida = has been practising (the sport of) running.
correr is the verb “to run”, but after praticar you want the noun form.

Could you say tem corrido instead of tem praticado corrida? Is there a difference?

Yes, you could also say:

A Ana tem corrido porque quer fazer uma maratona.

Differences in nuance:

tem praticado corrida
- Emphasises running as a sport/training activity.
- Slightly more “technical” or “sporty” phrasing: she’s practising running.
tem corrido
- More general: has been running.
- Could also be interpreted as just going out for runs, not necessarily in a formal training plan.

Both are understandable in European Portuguese; your original sentence is fine and clear.

Why is there no article before corrida? Could we say a corrida?

In European Portuguese, when you talk about a sport or physical activity in general, you often omit the article:

praticar corrida – practise running
jogar futebol – play football
fazer yoga – do yoga

If you add the article, it usually makes it more specific:

A Ana tem praticado a corrida.
This sounds like “that specific type of running” or “that specific race / that discipline” and is less natural in this context.

So here, no article is the most natural choice:

tem praticado corrida = has been practising (running, as a sport) in general.

Why is it porque quer and not porque ela quer?

In Portuguese, subject pronouns (eu, tu, ele, ela, nós, vocês, eles, elas) are often dropped when the verb form already shows who the subject is.

Here:

The subject is still Ana (from “A Ana tem praticado corrida”).
quer is 3rd person singular (he/she/it wants).
So ela is not needed; the verb form and the context already tell you it’s Ana.

You could say:

…porque ela quer fazer uma maratona.

This is grammatically correct, but it’s only used if you really need to emphasise she (as opposed to someone else), or to avoid ambiguity. In this sentence, porque quer is more natural.

What’s the difference between porque, por que, and porquê?

They look similar but are used differently:

porque (one word)
- Means “because”.
- Used as a conjunction giving a reason.
- Example:
  - A Ana tem praticado corrida porque quer fazer uma maratona.
por que (two words)
- Most often in questions, roughly “why” or “for what reason”.
- Example:
  - Por que (é que) a Ana tem praticado corrida? – Why has Ana been practising running?
porquê (with accent)
- Usually a noun, meaning “the reason / the why”.
- Often appears with an article:
  - Não percebo o porquê. – I don’t understand the reason / the why.

In your sentence, we’re giving a reason, so porque (because) is correct.

Why do you say fazer uma maratona instead of correr uma maratona?

In Portuguese, fazer (“to do / make”) is very commonly used with:

events: fazer uma maratona, fazer um exame, fazer um curso
physical challenges: fazer uma caminhada, fazer uma prova, fazer 10 km

So:

fazer uma maratona = to do / run a marathon (take part in it).

You can also hear:

correr uma maratona – to run a marathon

This is understandable and correct; it simply puts more focus on the running aspect. But idiomatically, fazer uma maratona is extremely common and very natural in both European and Brazilian Portuguese.

Is “A Ana tem praticado corrida…” something a European Portuguese speaker would really say, or is there a more natural version?

“A Ana tem praticado corrida porque quer fazer uma maratona.” is grammatically correct and perfectly understandable.

A European Portuguese speaker might also naturally say:

A Ana tem treinado para a maratona. – Ana has been training for the marathon.
A Ana tem feito corrida porque quer fazer uma maratona.
A Ana tem corrido porque quer fazer uma maratona.

So:

Your original sentence is fine and idiomatic.
In everyday speech, people might also choose treinar (“to train”) or fazer corrida.

Could we change the word order: “Porque quer fazer uma maratona, a Ana tem praticado corrida”?

Yes, that’s correct and sounds quite natural, especially in written or slightly more formal Portuguese:

Porque quer fazer uma maratona, a Ana tem praticado corrida.
= Because she wants to run a marathon, Ana has been practising running.

Both versions are fine:

A Ana tem praticado corrida porque quer fazer uma maratona.
Porque quer fazer uma maratona, a Ana tem praticado corrida.

The second one just puts more emphasis on the reason first.

How do you pronounce tem in European Portuguese, and is it different from têm?

In European Portuguese:

tem (3rd person singular of ter) – “he/she/it has”
- Pronounced approximately like: [tẽj̃] (a nasal vowel, something like “teng” without the final g).
têm (3rd person plural of ter) – “they have”
- Written with a circumflex.
- Pronounced with a slightly longer nasal sound, but in normal speech many people pronounce tem and têm almost the same; context tells you which one it is.

In your sentence:

A Ana tem praticado corrida…
uses tem (singular), because it refers to Ana (she).