Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Estudar até tarde cansa o Pedro.

Portuguese often uses the infinitive as a kind of “verb-noun” that can act as the subject, similar to English “To study late tires Pedro” or “Studying late tires Pedro.”

Why is the verb “estudar” in the infinitive and not “a estudar” or another form?

Here, “estudar” is an infinitive functioning as a noun (a nominalized verb). That’s the most natural way to express general activities as subjects in Portuguese:

Estudar até tarde cansa o Pedro.
Studying late tires Pedro.

You could also say:

Estar a estudar até tarde cansa o Pedro.
This emphasizes the ongoing activity more, but it’s less neutral and more “descriptive”.

Using “a estudar” on its own (without estar) would be wrong here; you’d need a main verb like estar a estudar.

Why is there an “o” before “Pedro”? In English we don’t say “the Pedro.”

In European Portuguese, it is very common to use the definite article before a person’s first name:

o Pedro, a Ana, o João, a Maria

It often sounds more natural and colloquial in European Portuguese to include the article, especially in speech.

So:

Estudar até tarde cansa o Pedro. ✅ (normally preferred in Portugal)
Estudar até tarde cansa Pedro. ✅ grammatical, but in Portugal it can sound a bit more formal, written, or stylistically marked.

In Brazilian Portuguese, especially in standard/urban speech, you’re more likely to hear Pedro without the article.

Is the “o” before “Pedro” an article or an object pronoun?

In this sentence it’s a definite article, not a pronoun.

o Pedro = “Pedro” with the article “the”

The object pronoun “him” would also be “o”, but it would be attached to the verb with a hyphen:

Estudar até tarde cansa-o. = Studying late tires him.

So:

cansa o Pedro → “tires Pedro” (full noun phrase)
cansa-o → “tires him” (clitic pronoun)

Could I just say “Estudar até tarde cansa-o” instead of “cansa o Pedro”?

Yes, it’s grammatical:

Estudar até tarde cansa-o.
Studying late tires him.

But:

It sounds more written, more formal, or like you’re avoiding repeating “Pedro” because it’s already clear from the context.
Using the full noun “o Pedro” is more natural when you first introduce or emphasize the person.

So both are correct; the original is simply the more neutral, everyday version.

Could I say “Estudar até tarde cansa Pedro” without the article, or is that wrong in European Portuguese?

It’s not wrong; it’s grammatically correct:

Estudar até tarde cansa Pedro. ✅

However, in Portugal, omitting the article:

often sounds more formal/literary or
may give a sense of “stage name” / public personality (e.g. in news headlines, sports commentary).

In everyday speech about a friend or relative, “o Pedro” is normally what people say.

Why is it “cansa” and not “cansa-se”? What’s the difference?

cansar (transitive) = to tire [someone], to make [someone] tired
- Estudar até tarde cansa o Pedro.
  Studying late tires Pedro.
cansar-se (reflexive) = to get tired, to become tired
- O Pedro cansa-se quando estuda até tarde.
  Pedro gets tired when he studies late.

So:

In the original sentence, “estudar até tarde” is the cause, and “o Pedro” is the person affected.
With “cansar-se”, the focus is on Pedro himself getting tired, not directly on the cause as the subject.

Could I say “Estudar até tarde deixa o Pedro cansado” instead? Does it mean the same?

Yes, that’s also correct:

Estudar até tarde deixa o Pedro cansado.
Studying late leaves Pedro tired / makes Pedro tired.

Differences in nuance:

cansa o Pedro
- simpler, more direct: “tires Pedro”
deixa o Pedro cansado
- slightly more descriptive: “leaves Pedro in a tired state”, often a bit softer or more explanatory.

Both are natural in European Portuguese.

What’s the difference between “até tarde” and “até à tarde”?

They mean different things:

até tarde = until late (late at night / late in general)
- Estudar até tarde cansa o Pedro.
  Studying until late tires Pedro.
até à tarde = until the afternoon
- Vou trabalhar até à tarde.
  I’m going to work until the afternoon.

So in the original sentence, “até tarde” is correct because we’re talking about staying up late, not about the afternoon.

Why is there no article before “tarde” in “até tarde”?

Because here “tarde” works like an adverbial expression of time, not like a specific, countable noun:

até tarde = “until late” (in general)
compare English: “late” (adverb) vs “the afternoon” (noun)

When you use “tarde” as a noun with a specific reference, you add an article:

até à tarde = until the afternoon
de manhã à tarde = from morning to afternoon

So “até tarde” without an article is the normal way to say “until late (at night).”

Could I move “o Pedro” to the beginning: “O Pedro cansa de estudar até tarde”?

You can say “O Pedro cansa-se de estudar até tarde”, but it doesn’t mean exactly the same:

O Pedro cansa-se de estudar até tarde.
Pedro gets tired of studying late / he becomes tired from studying late.

Differences:

In the original, “estudar até tarde” is the subject causing the tiredness.
In “O Pedro cansa-se de…”, Pedro is the subject, and he is the one who gets tired; the phrase “de estudar até tarde” explains from what he gets tired.

Also, without “-se” (“O Pedro cansa de…”) is unusual or sounds incomplete; you normally need the reflexive cansa-se in that structure.

Is “Estudando até tarde cansa o Pedro” possible, like using the -ing form in English?

No, “Estudando até tarde cansa o Pedro” is not correct Portuguese.

The form “estudando” is a gerúndio (gerund), and in Portuguese it does not function like an English -ing noun (“Studying” as a subject).
To make it the subject, you need the infinitive, not the gerund:
- ✅ Estudar até tarde cansa o Pedro.
- ❌ Estudando até tarde cansa o Pedro.

The gerund in Portuguese is mostly used to express simultaneous actions or ongoing actions with another verb (e.g. “está estudando” in Brazilian Portuguese, or “está a estudar” in European Portuguese).

Can I drop “o Pedro” and just say “Estudar até tarde cansa”?

Yes, you can:

Estudar até tarde cansa.
Studying late is tiring.

In that version:

The sentence is impersonal: it means “studying late tires (people) / is tiring (in general).”
You’re not talking specifically about Pedro; you’re making a general statement.

Adding “o Pedro” makes it clear that Pedro is the one who gets tired from studying late.