O animal corre no jardim.

The animal runs in the garden.

Breakdown of O animal corre no jardim.

• em: in
• o jardim: the garden
• correr: to run
• o animal: the animal

Questions & Answers about O animal corre no jardim.

Why does the sentence start with O? In English we can say just “Animal runs in the garden” as a title or caption. Is O always necessary?

O is the definite article (the) in Portuguese, masculine singular.

• In normal sentences, Portuguese almost always needs an article before a singular, countable noun like animal.
• O animal = the animal (a specific animal, or sometimes animals in general as a class).
• Without the article (*Animal corre no jardim) the sentence sounds ungrammatical in standard Portuguese.
• You could also say:
  • Um animal corre no jardim. = An animal runs in the garden. (non‑specific animal)

So yes, in regular sentences you almost always put o / a / um / uma before nouns like animal.

What gender is animal in Portuguese, and does that affect the sentence?

In Portuguese, animal is masculine:

• o animal = the animal
• um animal = an animal

This is why the article is o (masculine) and not a (feminine).

If you change number and keep the same word:

• os animais correm no jardim = the animals run in the garden
  
  • os = masculine plural article
  • animais = plural of animal
  • correm = 3rd person plural of correr

There isn’t a common feminine form a animal; standard usage is masculine.

What tense and person is corre, and what is the infinitive of this verb?

Corre is:

• Verb: correr (to run)
• Tense: present indicative
• Person / number: 3rd person singular (he / she / it runs, the animal runs)

Present of correr (European Portuguese) is:

• eu corro – I run
• tu corres – you run (informal singular)
• ele / ela / você corre – he / she / you (formal) runs
• nós corremos – we run
• vocês correm – you (plural) run
• eles / elas correm – they run

So o animal corre = the animal runs / the animal is running (depending on context).

In English we distinguish “runs” and “is running”. Does O animal corre no jardim mean one of these specifically?

O animal corre no jardim can correspond to both:

• The animal runs in the garden (habitual action, general fact)
• The animal is running in the garden (right now), if the context makes it clear.

Portuguese simple present often covers both the English simple present and present continuous.

If you want to emphasise “right now” in European Portuguese, you usually say:

• O animal está a correr no jardim. = The animal is running in the garden (at the moment).

So:

• corre – neutral, can be habitual or present‑time depending on context.
• está a correr – clearly progressive, happening now.

Could I say O animal está a correr no jardim instead of O animal corre no jardim? Is one more “correct” in Portugal?

Both are correct in European Portuguese; they just highlight different things:

• O animal corre no jardim.

  • More neutral.
  • Often used for habitual actions: The animal (usually) runs in the garden.
  • Can also be used for a current action if context makes that clear.

• O animal está a correr no jardim.

  • Focuses on an action in progress right now.
  • Very close to English “is running”.

In Portugal, the progressive is normally formed with estar a + infinitive:

• está a correr (EP)
  Versus Brazil, which commonly uses estar + gerúndio:
• está correndo (mainly Brazilian Portuguese)

Since you’re learning Portuguese from Portugal, está a correr is the standard progressive form to learn.

Why is it corre and not correm? How would the sentence change if it were plural?

Corre (no final m) is 3rd person singular, matching o animal (one animal):

• O animal corre no jardim. = The animal runs in the garden.

For a plural subject you need plural verb and article:

• Os animais correm no jardim. = The animals run in the garden.
  • os – plural of o
  • animais – plural of animal
  • correm – 3rd person plural of correr

In Portuguese, the verb must agree in number (singular/plural) with the subject.

What exactly does no mean in no jardim? Is it one word or two?

No is a contraction of two words:

• em (in / on / at) + o (the, masculine singular)
  → em + o = no

So:

• no jardim literally = in the garden

Other related contractions:

• em + a = na → na casa = in the house
• em + os = nos → nos jardins = in the gardens
• em + as = nas → nas casas = in the houses

You normally use the contraction (no, na, etc.) instead of keeping the two words separate.

When would I use em / no versus a / ao with a place like jardim?

Very roughly:

• em / no / na = in / at / on (location)

  • O animal corre no jardim.
    The animal runs in the garden (location).

• a / ao / à = to (direction, movement towards)

  • O animal vai ao jardim.
    The animal goes to the garden.

So:

• no jardim – the action happens inside/at the garden.
• ao jardim – movement towards the garden (going there).

In many cases English uses “in the garden / to the garden”, and Portuguese uses “no jardim / ao jardim”.

Can I change the word order, like No jardim, o animal corre? Does that sound natural?

Yes, that is natural and correct:

• No jardim, o animal corre.

Meaning is basically the same; you’re just emphasising the location first:

• O animal corre no jardim.
  • Neutral order: subject – verb – place.
• No jardim, o animal corre.
  • Emphasises in the garden (for contrast: not somewhere else).

Word order in Portuguese is relatively flexible, especially when you move phrases like time or place to the beginning for emphasis. Just keep subject and verb agreement the same.

Does jardim mean exactly the same as English “garden”? In Portugal, would this usually be a private garden or a public park?

Jardim overlaps with garden, but usage in European Portuguese has some nuances:

• jardim:
  • A garden with plants, flowers, lawn, etc. (private or public).
  • Also often used for small public gardens / small parks, especially ones with landscaped areas.
  • Many public spaces are called Jardim X (e.g. Jardim da Estrela in Lisbon).

For a bigger, more general park, you also see:

• parque = park (often larger, may have sports areas, playgrounds, etc.)

In this isolated sentence, no jardim could be:

• a house’s garden / yard, or
• a public garden / small park,

depending on context. The sentence itself doesn’t specify.

How do you pronounce O animal corre no jardim in European Portuguese? The r sounds are confusing.

Approximate European Portuguese pronunciation (simplified):

• O – like “oo” in “food”, but short.
• animal – ah‑nee‑MAHL (stress on the last syllable).
• corre – KO‑rreh:
  • first r: a strong r, a bit like French or guttural r (in many accents)
  • final e: very short, almost like a light “uh/ih”.
• no – like “noo” but short.
• jardim – zhar‑DEENG:
  • j = like the “s” in “measure” (a soft zh sound)
  • r = another strong, throaty r
  • im = nasal: like “een” but through the nose.

Syllable‑by‑syllable (stressed syllables in CAPS):

• o a‑ni‑MAL KO‑rre no zhar‑DEENG

The strong r in corre and jardim is very characteristic in European Portuguese.

Could I say Ele corre no jardim instead? How is that different from O animal corre no jardim?

Yes:

• Ele corre no jardim. = He runs in the garden.

Differences:

• O animal corre no jardim.

  • Subject is o animal (the animal).
  • You are explicitly talking about an animal.

• Ele corre no jardim.

  • Subject is ele (he).
  • You are referring to a male person (or sometimes a male animal) that is already known in context.

In Portuguese, subject pronouns (ele, ela, etc.) are often omitted when the verb ending makes the subject clear, but here you’re contrasting a noun (o animal) with a pronoun (ele), so they are simply different sentences with different subjects.

Is this sentence the same in Brazilian Portuguese, or would Brazilians say it differently?

The basic sentence is the same in Brazilian Portuguese:

• O animal corre no jardim.

No change in words or structure.

Where you see a difference is mainly with the progressive:

• European Portuguese (Portugal):
  
  • O animal está a correr no jardim.
• Brazilian Portuguese:
  
  • O animal está correndo no jardim.

Also, pronunciation of r and some vowels differs between European and Brazilian accents, but grammatically O animal corre no jardim works in both varieties.