Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Ela anda a ter pesadelos e acorda cansada de manhã. - She has been having nightmares and wakes up tired in the morning.

Literally, andar means “to walk / to go around”, but in this structure it doesn’t keep that meaning.
andar a + infinitive expresses an action that:
- has been going on for some time, or
- happens repeatedly/over a period, often with a slight nuance of “lately / these days”.

So Ela anda a ter pesadelos is best translated as:

“She’s been having nightmares (lately).”
or
“She keeps having nightmares.”

It’s not just a neutral “is having right now”; it suggests a more extended or repeated situation.

What’s the difference between anda a ter pesadelos and está a ter pesadelos?

Both use a kind of progressive aspect, but they’re not the same:

Está a ter pesadelos
- Focuses more on right now / at this moment or in a very short, current period.
- Roughly: “She is having nightmares (now / these nights).”
- More neutral, straightforward progressive.
Anda a ter pesadelos
- Suggests something more extended in time or recurrent:
  - “has been having,” “keeps having,” “has been going through a phase of having…”
- Often carries a nuance of ongoing, perhaps bothersome situation.

In English you’d usually choose:

“She’s been having nightmares” for anda a ter
“She’s having nightmares” for está a ter

They overlap, but andar a + infinitive is more “over a period / lately” than strictly “right now.”

Could I say Ela tem pesadelos instead of Ela anda a ter pesadelos? What changes?

You can say Ela tem pesadelos, but the meaning shifts:

Ela tem pesadelos
- More general/habitual:
  - “She has nightmares” as a regular characteristic or habit (e.g. often, in general).
- It doesn’t highlight that this is a recent change or current phase.
Ela anda a ter pesadelos
- Suggests it’s something going on recently / lately, maybe not always true in her life.
- Implies a kind of current phase, possibly new or noticeable.

So if she always has nightmares, Ela tem pesadelos fits well.
If you mean “Recently, she’s been having nightmares,” then Ela anda a ter pesadelos is more natural.

I thought andar means “to walk”. Why is it used here without that meaning?

In Portuguese, andar is very versatile. Besides “to walk,” it’s used in lots of idiomatic constructions where the original meaning is weakened or lost. For example:

andar a + infinitive – ongoing or repeated action over time:
- Ando a estudar muito. = “I’ve been studying a lot.”
andar com – “to hang out with”, “to be going out with”, or “to carry”:
- Ela anda com ele. = “She’s going out with him.”
andar
- adjective – state or mood over some time:
  - Ando cansado. = “I’ve been tired / I feel tired these days.”

So in anda a ter pesadelos, andar contributes the idea of a current ongoing phase, not the literal “walking”.

Why is it acorda (simple present) and not something like “tem acordado” for “wakes up”?

In European Portuguese, the simple present is very commonly used for habitual or repeated actions, much more than English suggests.

Ela acorda cansada de manhã.
- Means “She wakes up tired in the morning”, as a repeated, usual event.

You could say:

Ela tem acordado cansada de manhã.

But in European Portuguese this tends to emphasize:

A series of repeated events up to now (similar to English “has been waking up tired”),
Almost like counting repeated episodes.

Most of the time, speakers prefer the simple present for daily routines and regular habits:

Acordo às sete. = “I wake up at seven.”
Ela acorda cansada. = “She wakes up tired.”

So acorda here is natural and already implies a habitual pattern, not just one morning.

Why is it cansada and not cansado?

Cansada agrees in gender and number with the subject ela:

Subject: ela – feminine, singular
Adjective: cansada – feminine, singular form of cansado

In Portuguese:

Masculine singular: cansado
Feminine singular: cansada
Masculine plural: cansados
Feminine plural: cansadas

Examples:

Ele acorda cansado. – He wakes up tired.
Ela acorda cansada. – She wakes up tired.
Eles acordam cansados. – They (masc./mixed) wake up tired.
Elas acordam cansadas. – They (fem.) wake up tired.

So cansada is required to match ela.

Can I change the word order and say Ela acorda de manhã cansada? Is that still correct?

Yes, Ela acorda de manhã cansada is grammatically correct, and people do say it. The meaning is the same:

Ela acorda cansada de manhã.
Ela acorda de manhã cansada.

Both mean: “She wakes up tired in the morning.”

Subtle points:

cansada usually stays close to acorda, since it describes how she wakes up.
de manhã can move around more freely:
- Ela, de manhã, acorda cansada. (more marked/expressive)
- De manhã, ela acorda cansada. (emphasizes the time)

So the original order is slightly more neutral, but your alternative is perfectly acceptable.

Why is it de manhã and not na manhã? What is the difference?

In Portuguese, to say “in the morning” (as a general time of day), the natural expression is de manhã, not na manhã.

de manhã
- Means “in the morning” in a general, habitual, or time-of-day sense:
  - Acordo cedo de manhã. – “I wake up early in the morning.”
  - Ela trabalha melhor de manhã. – “She works better in the morning.”
na manhã
- Much less common; used only in specific contexts, usually with a particular date or event:
  - Na manhã de 25 de Abril… – “On the morning of April 25th…”
  - Na manhã seguinte… – “On the following morning…”

So in your sentence, we’re talking about mornings in general, as part of a routine; therefore de manhã is the normal choice.

Why is there no article before pesadelos? Why not uns pesadelos or os pesadelos?

After ter, when talking about things in a general, indefinite, or habitual way, Portuguese often drops the article, especially in the plural:

ter pesadelos – “to have nightmares (in general)”

Compare:

Ela anda a ter pesadelos.
- General, indefinite: she’s been having nightmares.

You can add an article or determiner, but it changes the nuance:

Ela anda a ter uns pesadelos…
- Very colloquial; suggests “some (really bad/strange) nightmares.” The uns can add a “wow / remarkable” flavour.
Ela anda a ter muitos pesadelos.
- “She’s been having a lot of nightmares.”
Ela anda a ter aqueles pesadelos outra vez.
- “She’s having those nightmares again.”

No article (just pesadelos) is the neutral, generic way of saying “nightmares” here.

Could we leave out Ela and just say Anda a ter pesadelos e acorda cansada de manhã?

Yes. Portuguese is a pro‑drop language, which means subject pronouns are often omitted when the verb ending already makes the subject clear.

Ela anda a ter pesadelos e acorda cansada de manhã.
Anda a ter pesadelos e acorda cansada de manhã.

Both are correct.

Subtlety:

Including Ela:
- Often used to introduce the subject, emphasize it, or contrast it with someone else.
- E.g. O João dorme bem, mas ela anda a ter pesadelos…
Omitting Ela:
- Feels more neutral and is common in ongoing discourse where it’s clear who “she” is.

In isolation, teachers often keep Ela so learners see the subject clearly.

How would this differ in Brazilian Portuguese? Would they still say anda a ter?

In Brazilian Portuguese, the structure andar a + infinitive is not standard; instead they either use:

andar + gerúndio (ando tendo), or
The regular progressive estar + gerúndio (está tendo).

So a natural Brazilian version would be:

Ela anda tendo pesadelos e acorda cansada de manhã.
– Very similar nuance to European anda a ter (has been having / keeps having).

Or more neutral:

Ela está tendo pesadelos e acorda cansada de manhã.

Note:

In Brazil: ter pesadelos (no article) and acordar cansada de manhã work the same way.
The big difference is anda a ter (Portugal) ≈ anda tendo (Brazil), while está a ter (Portugal) ≈ está tendo (Brazil).