Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Na universidade dela, há muitos estudantes estrangeiros. - At her university, there are many foreign students.

In normal Portuguese, you must use the contracted form whenever em comes directly before a definite article (o / a / os / as).
So em a universidade is grammatically wrong in modern usage; you say na universidade.

Why is it na universidade dela and not something like na dela universidade, like English “in her university”?

In Portuguese, possessors normally come after the noun when you use de:

a universidade dela = her university (literally: the university of her)
o carro dele = his car (the car of him)

You cannot put dela before the noun as in na dela universidade – that’s incorrect.

Standard patterns:

a universidade dela = her university
a casa dele = his house
os livros deles = their books

So na universidade dela = at her university.

What exactly does dela mean, and how is it different from sua?

dela means “of her” or “her” and is formed from:

de + ela → dela

Comparing:

a universidade dela = her university (of her, clearly feminine, 3rd person)
a sua universidade = your / his / her / their university (ambiguous 3rd person)

Key point in European Portuguese:

sua / seu / suas / seus can mean your (formal) or his / her / their, so it’s often ambiguous.
dele / dela / deles / delas is clear: it always means of him / of her / of them (masc./fem.).

So:

Na universidade dela = At her university (we know it’s “her”)
Na sua universidade = could be at your university (formal) or at his/her/their university, depending on context.

In speech and writing, people often prefer dela / dele / deles / delas to avoid ambiguity.

How do you pronounce há here, and what’s the difference from a without an accent?

Pronunciation (European Portuguese):

há: sounds like “ah”, with an open a sound. The h is silent.
a (no accent): also “ah”, but the accent changes the function, not the basic sound.

Difference in meaning:

há = there is / there are OR ago (from verb haver)
- Há muitos estudantes. = There are many students.
- Há muitos anos. = Many years ago.
a = the feminine singular article (the) or a preposition (to).
- a universidade = the university
- Vou a casa. = I go home.

So in há muitos estudantes estrangeiros, há is a verb meaning there are.

Why do we use há to say “there are”? Could we also say tem or existem?

In European Portuguese:

há is the most neutral and common way to say there is / there are:
- Há muitos estudantes estrangeiros. = There are many foreign students.

You can also say:

Existem muitos estudantes estrangeiros.
Literally: Many foreign students exist.
→ perfectly correct, a bit more formal/explicit.

In Portugal, using tem to mean there is/are (as in Brazil) is much less standard and often felt as Brazilian or informal. In EP, tem is normally just “has”:

A universidade tem muitos estudantes estrangeiros.
= The university has many foreign students.

So in Portugal, for “there is/are”:

most natural: há
also possible: existe / existem
avoid: tem for “there is/are” if you want standard European usage.

Why is it muitos estudantes and not estudantes muitos?

In Portuguese, quantifiers like muito(s)/muita(s) (many/a lot), poucos, alguns, usually come before the noun:

muitos estudantes = many students
poucos livros = few books
alguns professores = some teachers

Putting them after the noun (estudantes muitos) is not normal in standard modern Portuguese (except in very poetic or archaic styles), so you should always say muitos estudantes.

Why is estrangeiros placed after estudantes? Could we say estrangeiros estudantes?

Estrangeiros is an adjective here: foreign.

General rule: in Portuguese, most descriptive adjectives normally go after the noun:

estudantes estrangeiros = foreign students
livros interessantes = interesting books
cidades grandes = big cities

You could say estrangeiros estudantes, but:

It sounds unusual or poetic.
It could be read as emphasizing “they are foreigners (who are students)” rather than simply “foreign students”.

For everyday speech, always say:

estudantes estrangeiros, not estrangeiros estudantes.

Why is estrangeiros masculine plural? What if all the students are women?

Agreement:

estudantes (students) is the same form for masculine and feminine in the plural.
The gender and number show up in:
- the article (os / as)
- the quantifier (muitos / muitas)
- the adjective (estrangeiros / estrangeiras)

Forms:

Mixed group or only men (default masculine plural):
- muitos estudantes estrangeiros
Only women:
- muitas estudantes estrangeiras

So if the group is all female, you would say:

Na universidade dela, há muitas estudantes estrangeiras.

Is the comma after dela necessary? Can I say the sentence without it?

Both versions are possible:

Na universidade dela, há muitos estudantes estrangeiros.
Na universidade dela há muitos estudantes estrangeiros.

The prepositional phrase Na universidade dela is an introductory “place” phrase. In Portuguese, you may put a comma after such an introductory element, but it’s optional when the phrase is short and clear.

So the comma is not grammatically required; it’s a stylistic choice. Many writers would omit it in such a short sentence.

Could the sentence start with Há instead of Na universidade dela?

Yes, you can change the word order:

Há muitos estudantes estrangeiros na universidade dela.

Both sentences are correct and natural:

Na universidade dela, há muitos estudantes estrangeiros.
→ Emphasizes the place first: At her university, there are many foreign students.
Há muitos estudantes estrangeiros na universidade dela.
→ Emphasizes the existence/quantity first: There are many foreign students at her university.

The difference is mainly one of emphasis, not grammar.

Could we say Na universidade dela, tem muitos estudantes estrangeiros in Portugal?

In European Portuguese, that sounds informal and Brazilian-influenced.

In Brazilian Portuguese, tem is very commonly used as “there is/are”.
In Portugal, standard usage is:
- há muitos estudantes estrangeiros (there are many foreign students)
- or a universidade dela tem muitos estudantes estrangeiros (her university has many foreign students)

If you want natural European Portuguese, prefer há or a verb like existe / existem, or rephrase with ter as a possessive verb (A universidade dela tem…).

Does estrangeiros mean “foreign” or “foreigners” here?

It can be both in Portuguese, depending on context:

As an adjective: estudantes estrangeiros = foreign students.
As a noun: os estrangeiros = the foreigners.

In Na universidade dela, há muitos estudantes estrangeiros, it’s an adjective modifying estudantes: students who are foreigners → foreign students.

How would I say “There were many foreign students at her university” in Portuguese?

You need the past tense of haver in the impersonal sense:

Havia muitos estudantes estrangeiros na universidade dela.
= There were many foreign students at her university.

Havia is the usual past form of há when it means there was / there were.

(You could also say Na universidade dela, havia muitos estudantes estrangeiros. The same word-order options apply as in the present tense.)

Why do we use na universidade and not à universidade for “at her university”?

In Portuguese:

em (→ no / na) is used for in / at:
- na universidade = in/at the university
- no banco = at the bank
a (→ ao / à) is mainly used for to (direction/motion):
- Vou à universidade. = I’m going to the university.
- Vou ao banco. = I’m going to the bank.

In your sentence, we’re talking about a location, not movement:

Na universidade dela, há muitos estudantes estrangeiros.
= At her university, there are many foreign students.

So we use em → na, not a → à.