Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Às vezes, o advogado acusa alguém, mas no fim a pessoa é inocente. - Sometimes the lawyer accuses someone, but in the end the person is innocent.

Às is a contraction of the preposition a
- the feminine plural article as → às.
  - The grave accent (`) marks this contraction (called crase in Portuguese grammar).
vezes means times.

So literally às vezes means at the times, but idiomatically it just means sometimes.

If you write as vezes without the accent, it usually means the times as a normal noun phrase, e.g.

Lembro-me de todas as vezes que o vi. = I remember all the times I saw him.

In the meaning sometimes, it must be written Às vezes with the accent.

Why is it o advogado (the lawyer) and not um advogado (a lawyer), if we are speaking in general?

Portuguese often uses the definite article to talk about things in general, more than English does.

Às vezes, o advogado acusa alguém...
= Sometimes, a lawyer accuses someone... / Sometimes, lawyers accuse someone...
Here o advogado is a generic singular: it means the lawyer as a type, not one specific lawyer.

You could say:

Às vezes, um advogado acusa alguém...

That is also grammatically correct. The nuance:

o advogado – sounds like a more general statement about lawyers as a profession.
um advogado – sounds like some (unspecified) lawyer, a bit closer to English a lawyer.

Both are possible, but Portuguese very often prefers o advogado in this kind of general statement.

(Notice the contrast: after ser, you normally drop the article: Ele é advogado = He is a lawyer.)

How does the verb acusar work? Why is it acusa alguém and not acusa a alguém or acusa de alguém?

In Portuguese, acusar takes a direct object for the person:

acusar alguém = to accuse someone

There is no preposition before the person.

If you mention what the person is accused of, you add de:

acusar alguém de roubo = to accuse someone of theft
O advogado acusa o réu de mentir. = The lawyer accuses the defendant of lying.

So the pattern is:

acusar + alguém (+ de + coisa/ação)
e.g. acusar alguém de algo

What is the difference between alguém and uma pessoa, and why does the sentence switch to a pessoa?

alguém means someone / somebody.

It is an indefinite pronoun, used only for people.
It does not combine with articles (you don’t say a alguém or uma alguém).

uma pessoa literally means a person and is a normal noun phrase.

In the sentence:

...o advogado acusa alguém, mas no fim a pessoa é inocente.

we start with alguém (an indefinite, unknown person) and then refer back to that person with a pessoa (the person).

That’s roughly like saying in English:

Sometimes, the lawyer accuses someone, but in the end *the person is innocent.*

Portuguese could also say:

..., mas no fim essa pessoa é inocente. = but in the end that person is innocent.

Using a pessoa here is a natural way to make that person definite once they have been introduced as alguém.

Why is it a pessoa (feminine article) even if the person might be a man?

The noun pessoa is grammatically feminine in Portuguese, for any human, male or female.

So you always say:

a pessoa, uma pessoa, essa pessoa
a pessoa é simpática, essa pessoa é inocente, etc.

Even if you know the person is male, the grammar stays feminine because the word is feminine. This is common in Portuguese:

a vítima (the victim) is also always feminine grammatically, even if the victim is a man.

So a pessoa é inocente is correct and natural regardless of the person’s actual gender.

Why do we say a pessoa é inocente with ser, not a pessoa está inocente with estar?

The choice between ser and estar is important:

ser is used for essential, defining or stable characteristics.
estar is used for temporary states or conditions that can easily change.

In legal or moral contexts, inocente is normally treated as a defining quality in relation to the accusation:

A pessoa é inocente.
= The person is (actually) innocent / not guilty.

Estar inocente is unusual and would sound odd in this context. It could only work in a very marked, figurative, or ironic way.

So for “innocent” as in not guilty of the crime, Portuguese uses ser inocente, not estar inocente.

Does inocente change for masculine and feminine? What about the plural?

inocente is:

the same form for masculine and feminine singular:
- o homem inocente – the innocent man
- a mulher inocente – the innocent woman
- a pessoa inocente – the innocent person
In the plural, it becomes inocentes for both genders:
- os homens inocentes
- as mulheres inocentes
- as pessoas inocentes

So:

singular: inocente
plural: inocentes
no change between masculine and feminine.

What exactly does no fim mean, and is it different from no final or por fim?

no fim = em + o fim → no fim, literally in/at the end.

In this sentence it means in the end / eventually.

Related expressions:

no final – very close in meaning; often interchangeable with no fim.
- No fim do julgamento / No final do julgamento = At the end of the trial.
por fim – means finally / at last, often used to introduce the last point in a sequence:
- Por fim, o juiz deu a sentença. = Finally, the judge gave the sentence.

Here, mas no fim a pessoa é inocente is best understood as but in the end the person is innocent (i.e. after everything that happens).

Why is there a comma before mas? Is that always required?

Yes, in standard Portuguese punctuation you normally:

put a comma before mas when it links two clauses:
- ..., mas ...

This is similar to English ", but".

In the sentence:

Às vezes, o advogado acusa alguém, mas no fim a pessoa é inocente.

the comma separates two coordinated clauses that contrast with each other:

o advogado acusa alguém
a pessoa é inocente

You do not normally put a comma after mas in this case (unless there is some other reason to pause).

Can I move Às vezes to a different position, like in English “The lawyer sometimes accuses someone”?

Yes. Às vezes is an adverbial expression and its position is quite flexible. All of these are possible:

Às vezes, o advogado acusa alguém, mas no fim a pessoa é inocente.
– As in the original: starting the sentence, with a comma.
O advogado às vezes acusa alguém, mas no fim a pessoa é inocente.
– Directly after the subject; this is also very natural.
O advogado acusa alguém às vezes, mas no fim a pessoa é inocente.
– Possible, but a bit less common; it can sound slightly heavier or more spoken.

The most neutral options are (1) and (2). Starting with Às vezes gives a bit more emphasis to the idea of sometimes.

Are there any European Portuguese specifics in pronunciation here that I should know, especially for advogado?

Yes, a few points for European Portuguese (Portugal):

advogado:
- Stress is on ga: a-dvo-GA-do → [ɐdvɔˈɡaðu] (approx.).
- The initial a is often a very short, reduced vowel [ɐ].
- The d in adv- is pronounced (not silent).
às:
- Short a, open sound like “ah”, with the grave accent.
- Final s in Portugal often sounds like [ʃ] (sh) before a consonant:
  - Às vezes ≈ [aʃ ˈve.zɨʃ].
vezes:
- z between vowels is [z] (as in English zoo),
- final s again often [ʃ] in European Portuguese.

Good models: listen to newsreaders from Portugal saying words like advogado, vezes, pessoa, and imitate their rhythm and reduced vowels.