Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Apesar da crise económica, o Pedro continua calmo. - Despite the economic crisis, Pedro remains calm.

apesar de
- noun:
  - Apesar da crise económica…
apesar de
- verb in the infinitive:
  - Apesar de estar cansado…
apesar de
- que
  - verb (usually in the subjunctive):
    - Apesar de que seja difícil…

So you should learn it as a chunk: apesar de. Using apesar alone before a noun or verb is incorrect.

What exactly is da in apesar da crise económica?

Da is a contraction of de + a:

de (from apesar de)
a (the feminine singular definite article the, agreeing with crise)

So: apesar de a crise → apesar da crise.

Other similar contractions:

de + o = do
de + os = dos
de + as = das

Why is it crise económica and not something like económica crise?

In Portuguese, adjectives normally come after the noun:

crise económica = economic crisis
livro interessante = interesting book
cidade bonita = beautiful city

Putting the adjective before the noun is possible in some cases, but it usually changes the nuance (more stylistic, poetic, or giving a subjective feeling). The neutral, standard order is noun + adjective, so crise económica is the natural choice.

Why is económica spelled with an ó in Brazilian Portuguese but not here?

The sentence is in European Portuguese (Portugal), where the spelling is:

económica (without the circumflex accent)

In Brazilian Portuguese, the same word is usually spelled:

econômica

The pronunciation is also slightly different, but the meaning is the same. The rest of the sentence works in both varieties, but the spelling económica is specifically European Portuguese.

Is crise feminine? How can I tell?

Yes, crise is feminine:

a crise (the crisis)
da crise (of the crisis)

You see this from:

The article a (feminine) instead of o (masculine)
The adjective económica ending in -a, agreeing in gender with crise

There isn’t a simple rule that all nouns ending in -e are feminine (many are masculine), so crise is something you just have to learn as feminine.

Why do we say o Pedro and not just Pedro?

In European Portuguese, it is very common (though not absolutely obligatory) to use the definite article with people’s first names:

o Pedro
a Ana
o João, a Maria

So o Pedro continua calmo sounds completely natural in Portugal.

In Brazilian Portuguese, using the article with names is much less common, and people would more often say simply Pedro continua calmo.

Can I leave out the o and just say Pedro continua calmo?

Yes, you can. Both are grammatically correct in European Portuguese:

Apesar da crise económica, o Pedro continua calmo.
Apesar da crise económica, Pedro continua calmo.

Leaving out the article can sound a bit more formal, written, or neutral. Using o Pedro is very natural and frequent in everyday spoken European Portuguese.

Why is it continua and not continuar?

Continuar is the infinitive form (to continue).

In the sentence, the subject is o Pedro (he), so we need the present tense, 3rd person singular of continuar:

eu continuo
tu continuas
ele/ela/você continua
nós continuamos
vocês/eles/elas continuam

So: o Pedro continua calmo = Pedro remains/is still calm.

Why use continua instead of just está?

Both are possible, but they mean slightly different things:

Pedro está calmo.
- Focus: his current state (he is calm now).
Pedro continua calmo.
- Focus: his calmness is ongoing, it has not changed, even though we might expect it to.
- It matches the idea of despite the economic crisis.

So continua highlights that his calm state continues in spite of the crisis.

Why is it calmo and not calma?

Adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun/pronoun they describe.

Subject: o Pedro → masculine singular
Adjective: calmo → masculine singular form

If the subject were feminine, you would say:

A Maria continua calma.
Ela continua calma.

Could I use another adjective like tranquilo instead of calmo?

Yes. Calmo and tranquilo are close in meaning and often interchangeable:

o Pedro continua calmo
o Pedro continua tranquilo

Calmo often just means not agitated, not nervous.
Tranquilo can add a nuance of relaxed, at ease, unbothered.
In this sentence, both would sound natural.

Is the comma after económica obligatory?

Yes, you need a comma between the subordinate clause and the main clause here:

Apesar da crise económica, o Pedro continua calmo.

Apesar da crise económica is an introductory concessive phrase (despite the economic crisis), and in Portuguese it is normally separated from the main clause with a comma.

Can I put the apesar part at the end, like in English?

Yes, you can move it, and it’s still correct:

O Pedro continua calmo, apesar da crise económica.

Both orders are possible:

Apesar da crise económica, o Pedro continua calmo.
O Pedro continua calmo, apesar da crise económica.

The first puts more emphasis on the crisis; the second starts by stating the fact that he remains calm and then adds the contrast.

How is apesar da crise económica, o Pedro continua calmo pronounced in European Portuguese?

Approximate guide (slashes show syllable breaks):

apesar → /a-pe-ZAR/
- final r is soft, often almost not pronounced in casual speech
da → /da/
crise → /KREE-z(ɨ)/
- final e is a very reduced sound, like a quick, weak uh
económica → /e-ko-NÓ-mi-ka/
- stress on NÓ
o Pedro → /u PE-dro/
- o before a consonant is pronounced like u
continua → /kon-ti-NU-a/
- stress on NU
calmo → /KAL-mu/

Spoken quickly, many vowels are reduced, so it flows more like:
apesár da crise económica, u Pédru continú-a kálmu.

What’s the difference between apesar de and embora?

Both express contrast (although / despite), but they are used differently:

apesar de is a preposition:
- Apesar da crise económica, o Pedro continua calmo.
- Apesar de estar cansado, ele trabalha.
embora is a conjunction and is followed by a verb, usually in the subjunctive:
- Embora haja crise económica, o Pedro continua calmo.
- Embora esteja cansado, ele trabalha.

Meaning is similar, but the grammar pattern is different:
apesar de + noun / infinitive; embora + verb (normally subjunctive).