A mãe tentou convencer o filho a deitar‑se mais cedo.

With convencer, the usual pattern in Portuguese is:

• convencer alguém a + infinitive
  
  • A mãe tentou convencer o filho a deitar-se mais cedo.
  • Eles convenceram o amigo a ficar.

So the a is required by the verb convencer in this structure.

Para + infinitive is also possible in Portuguese, but it usually expresses purpose / goal (in order to), not this specific verb pattern of “convince someone to do something”.

• Veio cedo para estudar. = He came early (in order) to study.

Here we are not expressing purpose directly; we’re expressing what the son is being convinced to do, so the normal construction is convencer alguém a + infinitivo, not convencer alguém para + infinitivo.

Se is a reflexive pronoun.

• deitar = to lay, to lay something down
• deitar-se = to lie down / to go to bed (literally “to lay oneself down”)

In European Portuguese, after a preposition like a, the pronoun normally goes after the infinitive verb, joined with a hyphen:

• a deitar-se
• sem se deitar
• para se levantar

So in this sentence, deitar-se means “for him to go to bed / lie down”, and the se is attached to deitar with a hyphen because that’s the standard placement after a preposition + infinitive in European Portuguese.

In European Portuguese, the normal (and expected) form after a + infinitive is a deitar-se (pronoun after the verb).

• A mãe tentou convencer o filho a deitar-se mais cedo. ✅

A se deitar is typical of Brazilian Portuguese in speech:

• A mãe tentou convencer o filho a se deitar mais cedo. (Brazilian style)

So:

• In Portugal: a deitar-se
• In Brazil: in standard writing both are technically possible, but a se deitar is what you most often hear.

In Portuguese, possession with close family members is usually clear from context, so speakers often use the definite article + noun:

• A mãe falou com o filho. = The mother spoke with her son.

Using seu filho is not wrong, but:

• It can sound a bit heavier or more formal.
• In some contexts seu can be ambiguous (it might mean “his” / “their”).

Just filho without an article would be strange here. In Portuguese, singular countable nouns almost always appear with an article or another determiner:

• O filho, um filho, seu filho, etc.

So o filho is the most natural and neutral way to say her son in this sentence.

O filho is specifically masculine: son.

• o filho = the son
• a filha = the daughter
• os filhos = children (can mean “sons” or “sons and daughters”)
• as filhas = daughters

So in this sentence we are clearly talking about a boy (her son).
For a daughter, you would say:

• A mãe tentou convencer a filha a deitar-se mais cedo.

No. With convencer alguém, the person is a direct object, so there is no preposition:

• convencer o filho ✅
• convencer ao filho ❌

You only use a preposition a before the infinitive:

• convencer o filho a deitar-se (convince the son to go to bed)

Portuguese makes a distinction like this:

1. Convencer alguém a + infinitive
   = convince someone to do something

   • Convencer o filho a deitar-se.

2. Convencer alguém de / de que / que + clause
   = convince someone of / that something is true

   • Convencer o filho de que dormir cedo é importante.
   • Convencer o filho que dormir cedo é importante.

So:

• a + infinitive for actions (do something)
• de / (de) que + clause for beliefs / facts (believe something)

The pattern convencer alguém a + infinitivo is the normal and simplest construction:

• A mãe tentou convencer o filho a deitar-se mais cedo. ✅

You could also say:

• A mãe tentou convencer o filho a que se deitasse mais cedo.
  (using the subjunctive se deitasse)

This version is more formal / literary and less common in everyday speech.

So the infinitive after convencer alguém a is:

• More natural
• Shorter and simpler
• Absolutely standard in both spoken and written language

They describe different stages of “going to bed”:

• deitar-se = to lie down / to get into bed
  
  • Physical action of lying down.
• ir para a cama = to go to bed (literally “go to the bed”)
  
  • Movement towards bed; implies getting ready to sleep.
• adormecer = to fall asleep
  
  • The moment when you actually start sleeping.

In this sentence, a deitar-se mais cedo focuses on the habit of going to bed (lying down) earlier, not specifically on the moment of falling asleep.

Yes, but the focus is slightly different:

• convencer o filho a deitar-se mais cedo
  
  • Emphasis on persuading the child to cooperate and go to bed by himself.
• pôr o filho na cama mais cedo
  
  • Literally “to put the son in bed earlier”; emphasizes the parent’s action of putting him to bed, not the persuasion.

Both can be used about bedtime routines, but convencer o filho a deitar-se highlights the convincing / negotiation aspect.

Mais cedo is “earlier” in the sense of earlier than usual or earlier than some reference time.

• cedo = early
• mais cedo = earlier

In this sentence, mais cedo implies:

• earlier than he normally goes to bed
• or earlier than the mother considers acceptable

You could make it explicit, if needed:

• … a deitar-se mais cedo do que de costume.
  (= to go to bed earlier than usual)

Both are possible, but they give different nuances:

• tentou (pretérito perfeito)

  • A completed attempt, seen as a single event in the past.
  • A mãe tentou convencer o filho… = She tried (at that point / on that occasion).

• tentava (pretérito imperfeito)

  • A repeated or ongoing attempt in the past.
  • A mãe tentava convencer o filho a deitar-se mais cedo.
    = She used to try / was trying (habitually or over some period).

In isolation, tentou is the default if you’re talking about one specific attempt or just stating the fact that she tried.

The sentence is perfectly correct in Brazilian Portuguese as-is, but everyday Brazilian speech would most often change the pronoun position:

• A mãe tentou convencer o filho a se deitar mais cedo.

Main differences:

• European Portuguese: a deitar-se (pronoun after the infinitive)
• Brazilian Portuguese (spoken): a se deitar (pronoun before the infinitive)

The rest (A mãe tentou convencer o filho / mais cedo) is the same in both varieties.

Approximate indications (not exact IPA):

• filho:

  • fi like “fee” but shorter
  • lh like “ly” in “million”
  • o very reduced, almost like uh
  • Roughly: “FEEL-yuh” (but shorter and more compressed)

• tentou:

  • ten with nasal e (like French vin, but with e)
  • tou like “toh”
  • Roughly: “ten-TOH” (with a nasal first syllable)

• deitar-se:

  • dei like “day”
  • tar almost “tarsh” (final r often very soft in Portugal)
  • se very reduced, like “suh”
  • Roughly: “day-TAR-suh”, but with a softer, more reduced final syllable.

For accurate sounds, you’d really need audio, but these approximations give you a basic idea.

In Portuguese, we do not usually separate with a comma the infinitive complement governed by a verb like tentar / convencer / desejar / prometer, etc.

• Tentou convencer o filho a deitar-se mais cedo. ✅
• Tentou convencer o filho, a deitar-se mais cedo. ❌

The whole “convencer o filho a deitar-se mais cedo” functions as one verb phrase, so we keep it together without commas.