O Pedro tem medo da trovoada à noite.

Pedro is afraid of thunderstorms at night.

Breakdown of O Pedro tem medo da trovoada à noite.

• Pedro: Pedro
• de: of
• a noite: the night
• à: at
• a trovoada: the thunderstorm
• ter medo: to be afraid

Questions & Answers about O Pedro tem medo da trovoada à noite.

Why is there an O before Pedro? In English we don’t say “the Peter”.

In European Portuguese it’s very common to use the definite article before a person’s first name: o Pedro, a Maria, o João, a Ana, etc.

• O = “the” (masculine singular)
• Pedro = the name

So o Pedro literally is “the Pedro”, but in meaning it’s just “Pedro”.

Usage notes (European Portuguese):

• In everyday speech, the article is very common:
  • O Pedro tem medo da trovoada.
  • A Marta chegou cedo.
• In more formal contexts (news headlines, official documents, some writing), the article is often omitted:
  • Pedro tem medo da trovoada.
  • Marta chegou cedo.

Both with and without the article are grammatically correct, but with the article sounds more neutral and natural in casual European Portuguese speech.

Can I drop the O and just say Pedro tem medo da trovoada à noite?

Yes. Grammatically, both are correct:

• O Pedro tem medo da trovoada à noite.
• Pedro tem medo da trovoada à noite.

The difference is mainly style and regional habit:

• In European Portuguese, using the article with names is the norm in spoken language.
• Without the article can sound:
  • a bit more formal,
  • or like written style (newspapers, academic texts, etc.).

So if you’re aiming at natural, everyday European Portuguese, keep the article: O Pedro…

Why do we say tem medo and not something like “is afraid”? What does ter medo literally mean?

Ter medo literally means “to have fear”.

• ter = to have
• medo = fear
• tem medo = “(he) has fear” → “(he) is afraid”

So O Pedro tem medo da trovoada à noite = “Pedro is afraid of thunder at night.”

This pattern is very common:

• Tenho medo de cães. – I’m afraid of dogs.
• Ela tem medo de aviões. – She’s afraid of planes.

It’s the standard way to talk about fear as a characteristic or tendency (something that is generally true about someone).

What’s the difference between tem medo and está com medo?

Both can be translated as “is afraid”, but there’s a nuance:

• ter medo (de…)

  • Often expresses a general fear or habitual tendency
  • Fits permanent or repeated situations
  • Example:
    O Pedro tem medo da trovoada à noite.
    → Pedro generally gets frightened by thunder at night; it’s typical of him.

• estar com medo (de…)

  • Focuses on a current state, right now
  • More like “is scared at the moment”
  • Example:
    O Pedro está com medo.
    → Right now, Pedro is scared (maybe because of a noise, a film, etc.).

You could say O Pedro está com medo da trovoada, but that would normally describe a specific moment (there’s a storm now and he is scared now), not his general tendency.

What exactly is happening in da trovoada? Why da and not just de?

Da is a contraction of two words:

• de (of / from)
• a (the – feminine singular)

de + a → da

In the sentence:

• ter medo de = to be afraid of
• The thing feared is a trovoada (“the thunderstorm” / “the thunder” as an event)
• So: ter medo de a trovoada → ter medo da trovoada

The a is required because trovoada is a feminine singular noun, and we’re using the definite article (“the”):

• a trovoada → the thunderstorm

So:

• de a trovoada (uncontracted, not used in normal speech)
• → da trovoada (contracted, correct form)

Why do we use the in da trovoada? Why not de trovoada or de uma trovoada?

Portuguese tends to use the definite article more often than English, even when talking about things in general.

In this sentence, da trovoada does not necessarily refer to one specific storm. It’s more like “thunderstorms” or “thunder” in general, but Portuguese still uses the:

• O Pedro tem medo da trovoada à noite.
  → Pedro is afraid of (the) thunder / thunderstorms at night.

Other possibilities and nuances:

• O Pedro tem medo de trovoadas à noite.
  → “Pedro is afraid of thunderstorms at night.”
  Plural makes the “general” meaning even clearer.

• O Pedro tem medo de uma trovoada à noite.
  → “Pedro is afraid of a thunderstorms at night.”
  This sounds more specific/hypothetical (afraid of some particular occurrence).

In everyday speech, da trovoada or de trovoadas are the most natural for the general fear.

What’s the difference between trovoada and trovão?

They’re related but not the same:

• a trovoada (feminine)

  • a thunderstorm (the weather event: heavy thunder, often with lightning and rain)
  • can also refer broadly to a lot of thunder

• o trovão (masculine; plural: os trovões)

  • a single clap of thunder, the sound itself

Roughly:

• trovoada ≈ “thunderstorm”
• trovão ≈ “(a) thunderclap / thunder sound”

In your sentence:

• tem medo da trovoada suggests he’s afraid of storms / thunder as an event, not just one isolated “bang”.

Why is it à noite? Could I say de noite or na noite instead?

À noite is the most standard way to say “at night / in the evening-night period” in a general sense.

Breakdown:

• a (preposition “to/at”)
• a (article “the”, feminine, because noite is feminine)
• a + a → à (with a grave accent; this is called crase)

So à noite literally is “at the night”, used the same way as English “at night”:

• O Pedro tem medo da trovoada à noite.
  → Pedro is afraid of thunder at night.

Alternatives:

• de noite

  • Also means “at night”
  • Very common, slightly more informal
  • O Pedro tem medo da trovoada de noite. (also correct)

• na noite

  • Literally “in the night”
  • Usually refers to a specific night or context (literary, dramatic):
    • Na noite de Natal, houve uma grande trovoada.
      → On Christmas night, there was a big thunderstorm.

In your sentence, à noite (or de noite) is the natural choice if you mean “at night in general”.

What does the accent in à mean? Why is it not just a noite?

The accent in à is a grave accent ( à ), and it marks a contraction (crasis):

• a (preposition, “to / at”)
• a (definite article, “the”, feminine singular)
• a + a → à

So:

• a noite = “the night” (subject or object of a verb)

  • A noite está fria. – The night is cold.

• à noite = “at night” (time expression)

  • À noite, fico em casa. – At night, I stay at home.

The accent doesn’t change the sound much in European Portuguese; its main function here is grammatical, to show two “a”’s have merged.

Can I move à noite to another position in the sentence?

Yes. Time expressions are quite flexible. All of these are possible:

• O Pedro tem medo da trovoada à noite.
• À noite, o Pedro tem medo da trovoada.
• O Pedro, à noite, tem medo da trovoada.

Differences are mostly about emphasis and rhythm:

• At the end: neutral, most common in speech.
• At the beginning: emphasizes “at night” (contrast with other times).
• In the middle, with commas: adds a slight pause and focus, sometimes a bit more written or dramatic.

All are grammatically correct.

How do you pronounce trovoada and noite in European Portuguese?

Approximate pronunciation (European Portuguese):

• trovoada: /tru-vo-A-da/ (with a very reduced first vowel)

  • tro-: sounds more like “tru” or “tɾʊ”, very short vowel
  • -vo-: like the “vo” in “vote”, but shorter
  • -a-: the stressed “a” like “ah”
  • -da: a quick “dah”, final “a” is short and often slightly reduced

  Rough English approximation: “tʊr-vwah-duh”, but said quickly and tightly.

• noite: /NOYT(ɨ)/

  • noi-: like English “noi” in “noise”
  • -te: in European Portuguese, final -e is very reduced: something like a quick, almost mute “tɨ”

  Rough English approximation: “NOYT-ih”, but with the final vowel very short and weak.

Key point: vowel reduction is strong in European Portuguese, so unstressed vowels (especially final -a, -e, -o) are very short and often sound like a neutral “uh” or almost disappear.

Is trovoada singular here? Why not plural (trovoadas) if we mean “thunderstorms in general”?

Yes, trovoada is singular in the sentence: da trovoada.

Portuguese often uses the singular with a definite article to talk about something in general:

• O lobo é um animal perigoso.
  → Wolves are dangerous animals. (general statement)

Similarly:

• O Pedro tem medo da trovoada à noite.
  → Pedro is afraid of (the) thunder / storms at night (in general).

You can also use the plural:

• O Pedro tem medo de trovoadas à noite.
  → Pedro is afraid of thunderstorms at night.

Both are natural; the singular with the article (da trovoada) is a typical “generic” usage.

How could I turn this into a question or a negative sentence in Portuguese?

Using the same structure, you just change word order slightly (for questions) or add não (for negatives).

1. Yes–no question

• O Pedro tem medo da trovoada à noite?
  → Does Pedro get afraid of thunder at night?

Intonation usually rises at the end. The word order stays the same, just like in many spoken Portuguese yes–no questions.

2. Negative statement

• O Pedro não tem medo da trovoada à noite.
  → Pedro is not afraid of thunder at night.

Here, não goes before the verb tem:

• tem → não tem

These patterns work with most verbs in Portuguese.