Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Eu abro o navegador para estudar português.

With Eu: slightly more emphasis on I, e.g., contrasting with someone else:
Eu abro o navegador, tu abres a aplicação.
Without Eu: more neutral, and very common in everyday speech and writing.

In this sentence, most native speakers would be perfectly happy with either version, depending on context and emphasis.

What tense and person is abro, and what is the infinitive?

The infinitive (dictionary form) is abrir = to open.
abro is:
- present tense
- 1st person singular (I)
- of the verb abrir

So:

Eu abro = I open / I am opening (depending on context)
Other forms in the present:
- tu abres
- ele / ela / você abre
- nós abrimos
- vocês / eles / elas abrem

Why is abro used instead of something like estou a abrir?

European Portuguese uses two common ways to talk about actions:

Simple present: Eu abro o navegador
- Can mean:
  - a habit: I (usually) open the browser...
  - a current action, if supported by context.
Progressive form: Eu estou a abrir o navegador
- Literally: I am opening the browser (right now)
- More explicit about something happening in this moment.

In your sentence, Eu abro o navegador para estudar português sounds like:

A habitual action: I open the browser (whenever I want) to study Portuguese.

If you were describing what you are doing right now, you might say:

Estou a abrir o navegador para estudar português.

Why do we say o navegador, and not just navegador or um navegador?

Portuguese uses articles (o / a / os / as) more often than English.

o navegador = the browser (a specific one, typically the one on your device)
um navegador = a browser (any browser, non-specific)

In this sentence, you are almost always talking about the browser you normally use on your computer/phone, so o navegador is natural.

Leaving the article out (abro navegador) is generally not correct here in standard European Portuguese. Nouns usually need an article unless there is a special reason not to use one.

Is navegador really what people say for “browser” in Portugal?

Yes, navegador is a correct and common word for web browser in European Portuguese.

Other possibilities you may hear:

navegador de internet / navegador web – more explicit, but often unnecessary.
browser – the English word is also used, especially in tech contexts, but navegador is perfectly good everyday Portuguese.

So your sentence is natural in Portugal.

Why is there no article before português? Why not para estudar o português?

Both estudar português and estudar o português can appear in European Portuguese, but they’re used a bit differently:

estudar português (no article)
- very common and fully correct
- more general: to study Portuguese (the language in general)
estudar o português (with article)
- also correct
- can sound slightly more specific or formal, like the Portuguese language as a school subject or a particular variety.

In your sentence, para estudar português is the most natural and typical phrasing.

Why is português not capitalized like “Portuguese” in English?

In Portuguese:

Names of languages and nationalities are written with a lowercase initial letter:
- português, inglês, francês, espanhol…

But:

Names of countries, cities, etc., are capitalized:
- Portugal, Inglaterra, França, Espanha

So:

Estudo português em Portugal.
I study Portuguese in Portugal.

Why is the preposition para used before estudar here?

para + infinitive often expresses purpose or intention:

para estudar português = in order to study Portuguese / to study Portuguese

The basic idea:

Eu abro o navegador para estudar português.
I open the browser *in order to study Portuguese.*

Alternatives and their meaning shifts:

por estudar português – usually not used this way; por doesn’t express purpose like para does here.
a estudar português – would normally need another verb (e.g. estou a estudar português).

So para + infinitive is the standard way to express “to do something (for the purpose of)”.

Can I change the word order, like Para estudar português, eu abro o navegador?

Yes, that is correct and sounds natural:

Para estudar português, (eu) abro o navegador.

This version:

Puts the purpose first: To study Portuguese, I open the browser.
Adds a bit of stylistic variation, more common in writing or careful speech.

Both word orders are fine:

Eu abro o navegador para estudar português.
Para estudar português, eu abro o navegador.

Why is it português and not portuguesa here?

português in this sentence is the name of the language, and language names are usually in the masculine singular form.

Forms of the adjective/nationality:

português – masculine singular
portuguesa – feminine singular
portugueses – masculine plural
portuguesas – feminine plural

Examples:

Ele é português. – He is Portuguese.
Ela é portuguesa. – She is Portuguese.
Estudo português. – I study Portuguese (the language).

So estudar português is correct when you mean to study the Portuguese language.

Would Eu abro o navegador para estudar o português sound wrong?

It’s not wrong, but it sounds a bit more:

formal, or
school-like, as if Portuguese is a specific subject or course.

Nuance:

para estudar português – most common, neutral, everyday: to study Portuguese (as a language).
para estudar o português – can suggest the Portuguese language in a more academic or specific sense, e.g., a linguistics context.

In ordinary speech about language-learning, people most often say estudar português.

Can I use aprender instead of estudar, like para aprender português?

Yes, you can, but there is a difference in meaning:

estudar português – to study Portuguese
Focus on the activity: doing exercises, reading, watching videos, taking classes.
aprender português – to learn Portuguese
Focus on the result: gaining the skill, becoming able to speak/understand it.

Both are natural:

Eu abro o navegador para estudar português.
I open the browser to study Portuguese (do my study work).
Eu abro o navegador para aprender português.
I open the browser to learn Portuguese (so that I can actually learn it).

In practice, both are used, and they can overlap in meaning, but estudar emphasizes the learning process/activity more.

Can this sentence also mean a future action, like “I’ll open the browser to study Portuguese”?

Yes, in Portuguese the present tense can sometimes refer to a planned future, especially if context makes that clear.

However, Eu abro o navegador para estudar português is most naturally understood as:

a habit: I (usually) open the browser to study Portuguese.

For a clearer future meaning, you’d more often say:

Vou abrir o navegador para estudar português. – I’m going to open the browser to study Portuguese.
Abrirei o navegador para estudar português. – very formal/literary future.

How do I pronounce the tricky parts: abro, navegador, português (in European Portuguese)?

Approximate European Portuguese pronunciation (not IPA, just rough English-based hints):

abro – AH-broo
- a like a in father
- bro with a light, tapped/flapped r (like a quick Spanish r).
navegador – nah-veh-gah-DOOR (but the final r is very soft)
- na as in nut
- ve like ve in Kevin
- ga as in garden
- dor: in Portugal, the final r is weak/soft, almost like do(h).
português – roughly poor-too-GESH
- por: like poor but shorter, r soft
- tu: like too but short
- guês: close to gesh (with ê like ay in say, but shorter and tenser, and s sounding like sh at the end).

These are approximations; listening to native audio is the best way to get the exact sounds.