Breakdown of Noutras vezes, eu fico em casa a ver um filme com o Pedro.
Questions & Answers about Noutras vezes, eu fico em casa a ver um filme com o Pedro.
Noutras vezes literally comes from em outras vezes and means “at other times / on other occasions.”
- Outras vezes = other times
- Em outras vezes → noutras vezes (contraction) = at other times / on other occasions
In practice, noutras vezes and outras vezes are often used with almost the same meaning: other times / sometimes / on other occasions.
The contracted form noutras vezes is a bit more typical of European Portuguese and a bit more “compact”/idiomatic, but outras vezes is also correct.
The n in noutras comes from the contraction of the preposition em with outras:
- em + outras → historically n’outras → noutras
The same thing happens with other words:
- em + outro → noutro
- em + outras situações → noutras situações
So noutras really means em outras (“in/at other [times / situations]”), just in a contracted, more natural form.
They are related but not identical:
- Às vezes = sometimes (no reference to any specific other time)
- Noutras vezes = at other times / on other occasions (usually contrasting with a situation just mentioned)
Example:
- Às vezes fico em casa. – Sometimes I stay at home.
- Normalmente saio com amigos. Noutras vezes, fico em casa. – Normally I go out with friends. At other times, I stay at home.
In your sentence, Noutras vezes sounds like it’s contrasting with something the speaker does on other occasions (maybe in the previous sentence), so Noutras vezes is very natural there.
Noutras vezes is an introductory adverbial phrase (it sets the time frame: at other times), so Portuguese normally uses a comma to separate it from the main clause:
- Noutras vezes, eu fico em casa…
The comma marks a slight pause in speech and helps the rhythm. You will also see:
- Às vezes, fico em casa.
- Normalmente, saio com amigos.
In informal writing you’ll sometimes see it omitted, but with an initial time phrase, the comma is standard and recommended.
Ficar and estar can both be translated as “to be”, but they’re not the same:
- ficar = to stay / to remain / to end up
- estar = to be (temporary state)
In eu fico em casa a ver um filme, fico means “I stay/remain at home”.
If you said eu estou em casa a ver um filme, it would mean “I am at home watching a film (right now)”.
So:
Eu fico em casa a ver um filme.
– On those occasions, I stay at home to watch a film.Eu estou em casa a ver um filme.
– Right now, I am at home watching a film.
Here, since we’re talking about a habitual choice on certain occasions, fico (stay) fits better.
Yes. In Portuguese (especially European Portuguese), the subject pronoun is often dropped because the verb ending already shows the subject:
- (Eu) fico em casa a ver um filme.
- Fico em casa a ver um filme. – perfectly natural
You only need eu for emphasis or when you want to contrast:
- Eu fico em casa, mas tu sais com os amigos.
– I stay at home, but you go out with friends.
They’re not interchangeable in all contexts:
em casa
- Means at home (general, no article or possessive).
- Natural translation here: “I stay at home” = fico em casa.
na casa = em + a casa
- Means in the house / in that house (a specific house).
- Example: Na casa do Pedro há um jardim. – In Pedro’s house there is a garden.
em minha casa / em minha casa (PT) or na minha casa (more common in BR)
- Means in my house / at my home, explicitly “my”.
- EP: em minha casa sounds a bit more formal/literary; in everyday EP, you more often hear em minha casa or simply em casa when it’s clear you mean your own home.
In your sentence, em casa is the natural form: fico em casa = I stay at home.
A ver is “to watch / watching” and this a is a preposition forming the structure a + infinitive, which in European Portuguese often expresses:
- a continuous/ongoing action after certain verbs (like estar, ficar, andar), or
- an action that you do while in a certain state.
So:
- fico em casa a ver um filme
= I stay at home watching a film.
This is very typical in European Portuguese:
- Estou a trabalhar. – I am working.
- Ele ficou a ler. – He stayed reading.
It roughly corresponds to the -ing form in English (watching, working, reading).
In European Portuguese, a + infinitive is the standard way to express ongoing actions:
- estou a ver, fico a ver, ando a ver…
Using the gerund (vendo) like in Brazilian Portuguese (ficar em casa vendo um filme) sounds strongly Brazilian, not European.
So, for Portuguese (Portugal), you should prefer:
- fico em casa a ver um filme (natural in EP)
Vendo um filme is understood but sounds Brazilian or unusual in European Portuguese in this context.
You can, but there are some nuances and regional differences:
- In European Portuguese, ver um filme is the most common, natural way to say “watch a film/movie.”
- assistir a um filme is also correct and used, but it can sound a bit more formal or more like “to attend the showing of a film” (e.g. at the cinema or at a festival).
In Brazilian Portuguese, assistir a um filme is extremely common and very natural for “watch a movie.”
For everyday European Portuguese, ver um filme is the safest and most idiomatic choice. So your sentence is very natural as it is.
In European Portuguese, it’s very common to use the definite article with personal names:
- o Pedro, a Ana, o Miguel, a Joana
So:
- com o Pedro = with Pedro
- com a Ana = with Ana
You can hear com Pedro without the article, but:
- In European Portuguese, com o Pedro is more typical and sounds more natural in everyday speech.
- In Brazilian Portuguese, the article before names is much less common (people usually say com Pedro).
Since you’re learning Portuguese from Portugal, com o Pedro is exactly what you should expect and use.
Yes, that word order is also correct, and it’s actually very natural:
- Noutras vezes, eu fico em casa a ver um filme com o Pedro.
- Noutras vezes, eu fico em casa com o Pedro a ver um filme.
Both are fine. The difference is very small:
- …a ver um filme com o Pedro.
- Slightly emphasizes watching a film with Pedro.
- …com o Pedro a ver um filme.
- Slightly emphasizes being with Pedro (and you’re watching a film).
In everyday speech, both sound normal; speakers choose the order more by rhythm than by strict rules.