Eu escrevo o resumo na folha.

I write the summary on the sheet.

Breakdown of Eu escrevo o resumo na folha.

• eu: I
• escrever: to write
• em: on
• o resumo: the summary
• a folha: the sheet

Questions & Answers about Eu escrevo o resumo na folha.

Do I have to say Eu, or can I just say Escrevo o resumo na folha?

In Portuguese you can drop the subject pronoun, so Escrevo o resumo na folha is perfectly correct and quite natural.
You usually include Eu to:

• emphasise the subject (Eu escrevo, não outra pessoa)
• make things clearer in isolation (e.g. answering a question)

In neutral context, many native speakers in Portugal would simply say Escrevo o resumo na folha.

Why is the verb escrevo (simple present) and not something like “I am writing”, e.g. estou a escrever?

Portuguese uses the simple present (escrevo) more broadly than English. Eu escrevo o resumo na folha can mean:

• a habitual action: “I (usually) write the summary on the sheet.”
• a general statement of fact or routine.

If you specifically mean “I am (currently) writing the summary on the sheet (right now)”, in European Portuguese you’d more likely say Eu estou a escrever o resumo na folha.

Why do we say o resumo and not just resumo?

Portuguese generally uses definite articles (o, a, os, as) much more than English. O resumo is:

• the specific summary that both speaker and listener know about.

If you say escrevo resumo na folha, it sounds incomplete or ungrammatical in this context. You could use um resumo (“a summary / some summary”) if you are talking about an unspecific summary: Eu escrevo um resumo na folha = “I write a (unspecified) summary on the sheet.”

Can I say um resumo instead of o resumo? What changes?

Yes, you can say Eu escrevo um resumo na folha. The difference is:

• o resumo = the summary (a specific one)
• um resumo = a summary (any summary, not specified which)

So Eu escrevo o resumo na folha suggests both people already know which summary is being talked about (for example, the summary for this particular book or lesson).

What exactly does folha mean here? Is it “paper”, “sheet”, or “leaf”?

Folha literally means “leaf” (of a tree), but in many contexts it also means “sheet (of paper)”.

• uma folha de papel = a sheet of paper
• In everyday speech, people often shorten this to uma folha when it’s clear they mean paper.

So na folha here is understood as “on the sheet (of paper)”, not “on the leaf of a tree”, unless the context says otherwise.

Why is it na folha and not em a folha?

Na is the contraction of em + a:

• em = in/on/at
• a = the (feminine singular)
• em + a → na

So na folha literally = “in/on the sheet”. Portuguese almost always uses these contractions in speech and writing: em + o → no, de + a → da, a + o → ao, etc.

Is folha feminine? How do I know which article to use?

Yes, folha is feminine, so you use a (singular) and as (plural):

• a folha = the sheet/leaf
• as folhas = the sheets/leaves

There’s no perfect rule for noun gender; you mostly learn it with each word. A practical trick is to always memorise new nouns with their article, e.g. a folha, o papel, o resumo.

Could I say no papel instead of na folha? Is there a difference?

Yes, no papel (on the paper) is also correct. The nuance:

• na folha = on a particular sheet of paper (one page)
• no papel = more general; could mean “on paper” as a material or on a piece/pieces of paper, not necessarily a single sheet.

Context decides which is more natural. For a school exercise page, na folha or na folha de teste is very common in Portugal.

Why is the preposition em used here? Could I say sobre a folha or para a folha?

Em is the default preposition for location (“in/on/at”), so na folha = “on the sheet”.

Alternatives:

• sobre a folha = literally “on top of the sheet”; sounds more physical, a bit more formal or descriptive.
• para a folha usually implies direction, like “towards / to the sheet”, and wouldn’t normally be used for writing in this sense.

For writing on paper, em (→ no/na) is the natural preposition: escrever na folha / no papel.

Can I change the word order, like Eu escrevo na folha o resumo?

You can say Eu escrevo na folha o resumo, and it’s grammatically correct, but it sounds a bit marked or stylised.

The most neutral order is:

• Eu escrevo o resumo na folha. (subject – verb – object – place)

Portuguese allows some flexibility in word order, but moving o resumo after na folha can slightly change the focus, as if you’re emphasising where you write it more than what you write.

Is resumo related to the English word “resume / résumé”? Can I use it for a CV?

Resumo means summary, abstract, or synopsis. It is not the normal word for a CV.

• um resumo = a summary of a text, film, talk, etc.
• um currículo or um CV = a résumé / curriculum vitae.

So Eu escrevo o resumo na folha means you’re writing a summary, not a job résumé.

How do you pronounce Eu escrevo o resumo na folha in European Portuguese?

In a simplified phonetic approximation for European Portuguese:

• Eu ≈ “eh-oo” (often reduced to something like “êu”)
• escrevo ≈ “(i)sh-KREH-voo” (initial e often very weak; s at start of word sounds like English sh
  • k here due to cr)
• o (before resumo) ≈ a very short “oo”
• resumo ≈ “hɾe-ZOO-moo” (initial r like a guttural h; stress on -zu-)
• na ≈ “nah”
• folha ≈ “FO-lyah” (the lh is like the lli in “million”)

Said naturally, many vowels are reduced: something like “Êu sh-KREH-vu ʊ hɾe-ZU-mu na FO-lya.”