Eu às vezes sinto vergonha quando erro no exame.

I sometimes feel ashamed when I make a mistake in the exam.

Breakdown of Eu às vezes sinto vergonha quando erro no exame.

• eu: I
• em: in
• o exame: the exam
• quando: when
• às vezes: sometimes
• sentir vergonha: to feel ashamed
• errar: to make a mistake

Questions & Answers about Eu às vezes sinto vergonha quando erro no exame.

Why does às vezes have an accent on às, and what exactly does às mean here?

Às is a contraction of a + as (the preposition a + the feminine plural article as).

Historically, as vezes means the times, and às vezes literally means at the times, which became the fixed adverb sometimes.

The grave accent in Portuguese (the little sloping mark in às) is used to show this contraction (called crase).

• as (no accent) = the (feminine plural article)
• às (with accent) = to the / at the (feminine plural, from a + as)

In this expression, you always write às vezes, never as vezes when you mean sometimes.

Can I replace às vezes with algumas vezes or de vez em quando? Are they the same?

They are all close in meaning, but not identical:

• às vezes – most neutral and common way to say sometimes.
• algumas vezes – more literally a few times / several times; it can feel slightly more concrete or countable.
• de vez em quando – from time to time, often a bit less frequent than às vezes.

All three would be understood in this sentence:

• Eu às vezes sinto vergonha quando erro no exame.
• Eu, algumas vezes, sinto vergonha quando erro no exame.
• Eu, de vez em quando, sinto vergonha quando erro no exame.

Naturalness: in European Portuguese, às vezes is the most typical here.

Is the word order Eu às vezes sinto vergonha... fixed, or can I move às vezes?

You can move às vezes; it’s an adverbial phrase, and Portuguese is flexible with adverb placement. All of these are grammatically correct:

• Eu às vezes sinto vergonha quando erro no exame.
• Às vezes eu sinto vergonha quando erro no exame.
• Eu sinto vergonha às vezes quando erro no exame.
• Eu sinto, às vezes, vergonha quando erro no exame. (more written / careful style)

Differences are subtle and mostly about rhythm or emphasis, not meaning.

• Putting Às vezes first (Às vezes eu sinto...) slightly highlights the idea of sometimes.
• Keeping it after Eu (Eu às vezes sinto...) sounds very natural and neutral.

Do I really need the pronoun Eu here?

No. Portuguese is a pro‑drop language: you can often omit subject pronouns because the verb ending shows the person.

So you can say:

• Às vezes sinto vergonha quando erro no exame.

This is fully natural in European Portuguese and often even more common in speech.
You would keep Eu if you want to emphasize the subject, for contrast for example:

• Eu às vezes sinto vergonha, mas eles nunca sentem.
  (I sometimes feel embarrassed, but they never do.)

What is the difference between sinto vergonha, tenho vergonha, and estou envergonhado?

All relate to the feeling of shame/embarrassment, but with different structures and nuances:

• sinto vergonha – literally I feel shame.

  • Emphasises the internal emotion.
  • Often followed by a clause with quando or porque:
    
    • Sinto vergonha quando erro no exame.

• tenho vergonha – literally I have shame / I am shy/embarrassed.

  • Very common, especially with de + infinitive or de + noun:
    
    • Tenho vergonha de errar no exame. – I’m ashamed of making mistakes in the exam.
    • Tenho vergonha do meu resultado.

• estou envergonhado / estou envergonhada – I am embarrassed / ashamed (state at that moment).

  • Focuses on your current state, like English I’m embarrassed:
    
    • Estou envergonhado porque errei no exame.

In your sentence, sinto vergonha fits well because it describes a recurring emotional reaction. You could also say:

• Às vezes tenho vergonha quando erro no exame. (also natural)
• Às vezes fico envergonhado quando erro no exame. (I end up getting embarrassed when I make a mistake.)

Why do we use vergonha instead of something that looks like English embarrassed, like embaraçado?

English embarrassed and Portuguese embaraçado are false friends.

In European Portuguese:

• vergonha = shame / embarrassment (the feeling)
• envergonhado = ashamed / embarrassed (adjective)
• embaraçado often suggests awkward / in a tricky situation / entangled / flustered, and is much less the default word for feeling embarrassed. In some contexts it can mean something like fazed / ill‑at‑ease, but not as directly as envergonhado.

So natural choices are:

• sinto vergonha
• tenho vergonha
• estou envergonhado / fico envergonhado

Using embaraçado instead would often sound odd or not quite what you mean, especially in Portugal.

In quando erro, why is erro spelled like the noun erro (an error)? How do I know it’s a verb here?

Portuguese has both:

• erro (noun) = an error, a mistake
• erro (verb form) = I make a mistake / I’m wrong (1st person singular, present of errar)

They are spelled and pronounced the same; you distinguish them by context and sentence structure.

Here:

• quando erro no exame
  erro follows quando introducing an action: when I make a mistake.
  The implied subject is eu, so it must be the verb, not the noun.

Some forms of the verb errar:

• eu erro – I make a mistake / I’m wrong
• tu erras – you make a mistake
• ele/ela erra – he/she makes a mistake

The noun appears like this:

• Cometi um erro no exame. – I made a mistake in the exam.

Why is it quando erro (present tense) and not quando errar (future tense) here?

In Portuguese:

• present indicative after quando is used for general, habitual situations:

  • Sinto vergonha quando erro no exame.
    = Whenever I make a mistake in the exam, I feel embarrassed.

• future subjunctive (quando errar) is more for a specific future situation that may happen:

  • Quando errar no exame, vou ficar muito chateado.
    = When I make a mistake in the exam (in that future exam), I’ll be very upset.

Your sentence describes a repeated pattern, not a one‑off future event, so quando erro (present) is the natural choice.

What does no exame literally mean, and why do we use no instead of something like sobre (“on”)?

No is the contraction of em + o:

• em = in, on, at (very general preposition)
• o = the (masculine singular article)
• em + o → no

So no exame is literally in the exam, but depending on the verb it can correspond to English in the exam or on the exam.

English says:

• make a mistake on the exam

Portuguese normally says:

• errar no exame – make a mistake in/on the exam
  not errar sobre o exame.

Also, be careful that:

• errar no exame = make mistakes in the exam
• chumbar no exame / reprovar no exame = fail the exam

So your sentence does not say “I fail the exam”, only that you make mistakes and feel embarrassed about them.

Could I say num exame instead of no exame, and is there any difference?

Yes, you can, but it changes the nuance slightly:

• no exame (em + o exame) – in the exam (a specific, known exam).

  • Eu às vezes sinto vergonha quando erro no exame.
    = in that exam we’re talking about (my maths exam, the final exam, etc.).

• num exame (em + um exame) – in an exam (any exam, not a specific one).

  • Eu às vezes sinto vergonha quando erro num exame.
    = in an exam (in exams in general, not pointing to a particular one).

In many real contexts, both can work; no exame tends to sound more like you’re referring to a specific exam situation already known in the conversation.