Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Ontem ouvi o discurso do ministro da saúde na televisão. - Yesterday I listened to the health minister’s speech on television.

In European Portuguese, subject pronouns (eu, tu, ele, nós, etc.) are usually dropped because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is.

ouvi = I heard (1st person singular, past)
ouviste = you (tu) heard
ouviu = he/she/you (você) heard

So Ontem ouvi o discurso... already means Yesterday I heard the speech....
You can say Ontem eu ouvi o discurso..., but then you are usually adding emphasis to I (e.g. I heard it, not someone else).

What tense is ouvi, and why is it used here?

ouvi is the pretérito perfeito simples (simple past / preterite). It refers to a single, completed action in the past:

Ontem ouvi o discurso... = Yesterday I heard the speech... (finished event, clearly located in time)

You would use this tense for:

Ontem almocei com a Ana. – Yesterday I had lunch with Ana.
Na semana passada comprei um carro. – Last week I bought a car.

If you said ouvia (imperfect: I was hearing / I used to hear), it would suggest something ongoing or habitual, not one completed action yesterday.

Is there a difference between ouvi and escutei?

Both come from verbs meaning to hear / to listen:

ouvir → ouvi
escutar → escutei

Differences:

ouvir is more neutral and common: to hear, to listen.
escutar often implies more intentional listening, paying attention – a bit like to listen carefully.

In this sentence, Ontem ouvi o discurso... is perfectly natural.
You could say Ontem escutei o discurso do ministro da saúde na televisão, and it would sound like you were really listening attentively, but in many contexts ouvir is the default verb.

Why does Portuguese say o discurso with the, when English just says “I heard the speech / I heard a speech”?

European Portuguese uses the definite article (o, a, os, as) more frequently than English:

Ouvi o discurso do ministro...
Literally: I heard *the speech of the minister...*

Here, o discurso refers to a specific, identifiable speech (the one the health minister gave). English can use the speech or just I heard the health minister’s speech; Portuguese almost always needs the article in this kind of specific context.

Compare:

Gosto de música. – I like music. (general, no article)
Gosto da música. – I like the song/music (that we’re referring to). (specific, with article)

What does do ministro da saúde literally mean, and what is do/da?

Breakdown:

discurso do ministro da saúde
= speech *of the minister of (the) health*

Contractions:

do = de + o → of the (masculine singular)
da = de + a → of the (feminine singular)

So:

do ministro = of the minister
da saúde = of (the) health

The whole phrase o discurso do ministro da saúde literally is “the speech of the minister of health”, which in natural English becomes “the health minister’s speech”.

Why is it ministro da saúde and not ministro de saúde?

For government posts, Portuguese normally uses de + definite article to name the portfolio/area, so:

ministro da saúde – Minister of Health
ministro da educação – Minister of Education
ministro das finanças – Minister of Finance
ministro do ambiente – Minister for the Environment

So da ( = de + a) is required because saúde here is a specific area of government, not just “some health”.

Ministro de saúde would sound wrong as a title; it’s not how the role is named.

Why aren’t ministro and saúde capitalised like in English “Minister of Health”?

Capitalisation in Portuguese is more restricted than in English:

Official titles like ministro da saúde, presidente da república, primeiro-ministro are usually written in lowercase, unless:
- they start a sentence, or
- you’re writing in a very formal / ceremonial style (even then, not always).

So:

o ministro da saúde – the health minister (normal, lowercase)
O Ministro da Saúde – possible in very formal documents, but not needed in everyday writing.

Saúde is also lowercase here because it’s a common noun, not a proper name.

What exactly is na televisão? Why na and not just em televisão?

na is a contraction:

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

So:

na televisão = on the television / on TV

You normally need both:

the preposition em (in, on, at)
the definite article (a for televisão, which is feminine)

That’s why it becomes na televisão, not em televisão (which sounds incomplete or wrong in this context).

Similarly:

no rádio = em + o rádio – on the radio
na rádio (EP) = em + a rádio – also on the radio, but treating rádio as feminine.

Can ontem go in other positions in the sentence?

Yes. Ontem (yesterday) is a time adverb and is quite flexible. All of these are correct:

Ontem ouvi o discurso do ministro da saúde na televisão.
Ouvi ontem o discurso do ministro da saúde na televisão.
Ouvi o discurso do ministro da saúde ontem na televisão.

Differences are subtle:

Beginning (Ontem ouvi...) is very common and neutral.
In the middle (Ouvi ontem...) puts a bit more focus on when you heard it.
Later in the sentence (...do ministro da saúde ontem na televisão) is also possible but can sound slightly heavier; it works best in speech with the right intonation.

Can I move na televisão to other positions too?

Yes. For example:

Ontem ouvi o discurso do ministro da saúde na televisão. (original)
Ontem, na televisão, ouvi o discurso do ministro da saúde.
Na televisão, ontem, ouvi o discurso do ministro da saúde.

All are grammatically correct.
Putting na televisão earlier (especially with commas) can highlight the context / medium more:

Na televisão ouvi o discurso do ministro da saúde.
→ Focus: On television (as opposed to radio, in person, etc.), I heard the minister’s speech.

In everyday speech, the original word order is probably the most natural.

Could I say assisti ao discurso instead of ouvi o discurso?

Yes, but there is a nuance:

ouvir o discurso – to hear / listen to the speech (focus on the audio)
ver o discurso – to see the speech (more visual)
assistir ao discurso – to watch / attend the speech

On TV, people often say:

Ontem vi o discurso do ministro da saúde na televisão.
Ontem assisti ao discurso do ministro da saúde na televisão.

Both suggest you watched it.
Ouvi o discurso... na televisão is also fine and natural, and implies you followed/listened to it on TV.

Note: with assistir, in European Portuguese you normally say assistir a + o → assistir ao discurso, not assistir o discurso.

If I replace o discurso with a pronoun, what happens in European Portuguese?

In European Portuguese, direct object pronouns are usually attached to the verb:

ouvir
- o (him/it, masculine singular) → ouvi-o

So, instead of:

Ontem ouvi o discurso do ministro da saúde na televisão.

If the context already makes o discurso clear, you could say:

Ontem ouvi-o na televisão. – Yesterday I heard it on TV.

The pronoun -o attaches to the verb ouvi with a hyphen.
In European Portuguese this post‑verbal position (after the verb) is the normal pattern in affirmative sentences.

Can I say ontem eu ouvi instead of ontem ouvi?

Yes, it’s grammatically correct:

Ontem ouvi o discurso do ministro da saúde na televisão.
Ontem eu ouvi o discurso do ministro da saúde na televisão.

Both mean Yesterday I heard the health minister’s speech on TV.

Adding eu:

often adds a bit of emphasis (I heard it),
can make the subject crystal clear if there is any ambiguity (usually not needed with ouvi, but useful with some other forms).

In normal, neutral speech, dropping eu (as in the original sentence) is more common.