Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Eu estudo português ao meu próprio ritmo, que às vezes é mais lento do que o teu. - I study Portuguese at my own pace, which is sometimes slower than yours.

In Portuguese, you normally use a (contracted with o → ao) in the idiomatic expression “ao meu ritmo”, which corresponds to English “at my (own) pace”.

ao meu ritmo = at my pace
no meu ritmo would be unusual here; em/no ritmo is more like “in the rhythm” (musical/physical sense), not “at my own pace.”
You cannot drop the preposition and article and say just “meu próprio ritmo”; Portuguese needs something like “ao meu próprio ritmo” after estudar in this sense.

So “eu estudo português ao meu próprio ritmo” is the natural, idiomatic way to say “I study Portuguese at my own pace.”

What does “próprio” add to “meu ritmo”? Could I just say “ao meu ritmo”?

“próprio” here means “own” and emphasizes that the rhythm is personal and individual.

ao meu ritmo = at my pace
ao meu próprio ritmo = at my *own pace, stressing that it’s the way that suits *me, not anyone else.

You can say “ao meu ritmo” and it will be correct and natural. Adding “próprio” just adds emphasis, like in English when you choose between “my pace” and “my own pace.”

What exactly is “que” doing in “ritmo, que às vezes é mais lento…”? What does it refer to?

Here “que” is a relative pronoun meaning “which / that”. It refers back to “ritmo”:

o meu próprio ritmo, que às vezes é mais lento…
= my own pace, which is sometimes slower…

So you could paraphrase:

O meu próprio ritmo é às vezes mais lento do que o teu.
My own pace is sometimes slower than yours.

The “que” links the noun “ritmo” to the describing clause “às vezes é mais lento do que o teu.”

Why is there a comma before “que”? Could I remove it?

The comma here shows that the relative clause is non‑restrictive (extra information):

ao meu próprio ritmo, que às vezes é mais lento do que o teu
= at my own pace, which is sometimes slower than yours (extra comment about the pace)

With the comma, you are adding information about the rhythm; you’re not defining which rhythm.

If you write it without the comma:

ao meu próprio ritmo que às vezes é mais lento do que o teu

it suggests a restrictive meaning: the particular rhythm of mine that is sometimes slower than yours, which sounds odd here. So the comma is natural and preferred in this sentence.

What is the difference between “às vezes” and “as vezes”?

às vezes (with accent) is the normal expression meaning “sometimes”.
- It is a + as vezes contracted and written with a grave accent: às.
- Example: Às vezes estudo de manhã. – Sometimes I study in the morning.
as vezes (without accent) is literally “the times” (feminine plural of “the”). It appears in other contexts:
- Todas as vezes que venho cá, aprendo algo. – Every time I come here, I learn something.

In your sentence, only “às vezes” = “sometimes” is correct.

Why is it “mais lento” and not “mais devagar”?

Both relate to slowness, but:

lento is an adjective meaning “slow” (describes a noun: pace, person, etc.)
- um ritmo lento – a slow pace
- o meu ritmo é lento – my pace is slow
devagar is an adverb meaning “slowly” (describes how an action is done)
- Eu falo devagar. – I speak slowly.

In your sentence you are describing the pace (ritmo) itself, so you use the adjective:

…um ritmo que é mais lento… – a pace that is slower…

You could also say:

Às vezes estudo mais devagar do que tu. – Sometimes I study more slowly than you.

but then you are describing how you study, not explicitly the pace as a noun.

What is the “do” in “mais lento do que o teu”? Could I just say “mais lento que o teu”?

“do” is the contraction of de + o.

mais lento do que o teu = slower than yours
mais lento que o teu = slower than yours (same meaning)

After comparatives like mais / menos / maior / menor / melhor / pior, Portuguese allows both:

mais alto que ele / mais alto do que ele

In European Portuguese, both versions are common. “do que” is slightly more formal or careful, and sometimes helps avoid ambiguity, but in this sentence both are correct and natural:

…é mais lento que o teu.
…é mais lento do que o teu.

What does “o teu” mean here, and why do we need the “o”?

“teu” is the possessive “your” (informal, singular). Literally:

(o) teu ritmo = your pace

In Portuguese, when a possessive replaces a noun that has been mentioned, we often keep the definite article:

o meu ritmo é lento e o teu é rápido.
= my pace is slow and yours is fast.

Here “o teu” stands for “o teu ritmo” (your pace). The noun “ritmo” is omitted, but the article and possessive remain.

In European Portuguese, using the article with possessives (o meu, a tua, os seus, etc.) is very common and usually preferred, especially in this kind of structure.

Why is it “teu” and not “seu” for “your”?

Portuguese distinguishes between informal “tu” and formal “você” (and also 3rd‑person possessives):

tu → teu / tua / teus / tuas (informal singular “you”)
você / ele / ela → seu / sua / seus / suas (formal “you” or “his/her/their”)

In European Portuguese:

“teu” clearly means “your” (informal singular).
“seu” is ambiguous: it can mean “your (formal)”, “his”, “her”, or “their”.

Since the sentence uses “o teu”, it’s addressing someone informally with tu:

mais lento do que o teu (ritmo)
= slower than your (pace), talking to someone you “tutear” (use tu with).

If you wanted a formal version, you might say:

…mais lento do que o seu. (but context must make it clear whose it is).

Why is “português” not capitalized in this sentence?

In Portuguese, names of languages and nationalities are written with a lowercase initial letter, unlike English:

português, inglês, espanhol, francês (Portuguese, English, Spanish, French)
Sou português. Falo português.

So “Eu estudo português…” is correctly written with lowercase p, even though in English you would write “Portuguese” with a capital P.

Why is there no article before “português”? Could I say “Eu estudo o português”?

Both are possible, with a small nuance:

Eu estudo português.
– Very common and natural. Refers to the language in general, like “I study Portuguese”.
Eu estudo o português.
– Also correct, but sounds a bit more specific or emphatic (e.g., in contrast to another language, or talking about the language as an object of study, like linguistics).

In everyday speech, “Estudo português” (without article) is probably the most typical way to say “I’m learning Portuguese.”

Why is it “Eu estudo” and not “Eu estou a estudar” if I mean “I am studying Portuguese”?

Portuguese uses the simple present much more often than English to talk about ongoing or habitual actions:

Eu estudo português.
– Can mean I study Portuguese / I’m studying Portuguese (as a habit, course, ongoing project).
Eu estou a estudar português. (European Portuguese)
– Focuses more on right now or the current ongoing activity: I am (currently/at this moment) studying Portuguese.

So your sentence:

Eu estudo português ao meu próprio ritmo…

naturally expresses a habitual/ongoing action, very similar to English “I’m studying Portuguese at my own pace,” even though Portuguese uses the simple present.

Can I drop the “Eu” and just say “Estudo português…”?

Yes.

In Portuguese, the verb ending usually makes the subject clear, so subject pronouns like eu, tu, ele are often omitted:

Estudo português ao meu próprio ritmo…
– Correct and very natural. The ending -o on estudo already marks 1st person singular (eu).

You typically include “Eu” when you want to emphasize the subject, contrast it with someone else, or for clarity or style:

Eu estudo português ao meu próprio ritmo, não como os outros.
– I study Portuguese at my own pace, not like the others.

Why is it “meu próprio ritmo” and not “próprio meu ritmo”?

The normal order is:

(Article)
Possessive (meu, teu, seu, etc.)
próprio
Noun

So:

o meu próprio ritmo – my own pace
a tua própria casa – your own house
o seu próprio carro – his/her/their/your (formal) own car

Putting “próprio” before the possessive (“próprio meu ritmo”) is not standard in modern Portuguese and sounds wrong. The possessive usually comes before adjectives that modify it like “próprio” in this sense of “own.”

Are there any tricky pronunciation points in “Eu estudo português ao meu próprio ritmo, que às vezes é mais lento do que o teu”?

Some tips (European Portuguese):

Eu – like “eh-oo” but very short; often almost “êw”.
estudo – es-TU-do; e is like “eh”, u like “oo”.
português – por-tu-GUÊSH: final -ês is like “eish”, but shorter.
ao – like a quick “ow” in English “cow”.
meu / teu – similar to English “mayw” / “tayw” but shorter, one syllable.
próprio – PRÓ-priu; ó is stressed and open, final -rio reduces to something like “rhiu”.
ritmo – often RIT-mo, with a very light or almost absent vowel between t and m; don’t insert a clear “i” as in English.
que – very short, like “kı” (almost just a consonant plus schwa).
às – like “ash” but without the sh; open à is stressed.
vezes – VE-zes, with unstressed -es reduced.
lento – LEN-tu, clear e like in “bed.”
do que – usually pronounced together, something like “dô-kı”.

European Portuguese tends to reduce unstressed vowels a lot, so many of these syllables are shorter and less clear than in English.