Breakdown of O Pedro precisa de uma pausa no estudo.
Questions & Answers about O Pedro precisa de uma pausa no estudo.
In European Portuguese, it’s very common to use the definite article with people’s names:
- O Pedro = Pedro
- A Ana = Ana
It often sounds more natural and more colloquial in Portugal to include the article, especially in everyday speech:
- O Pedro precisa de uma pausa.
- A Maria já chegou.
In English, using the with a name sounds strange, but in Portuguese it doesn’t; it’s just part of normal grammar and style, especially in European Portuguese.
Yes, it’s grammatically correct to say Pedro precisa de uma pausa no estudo.
The difference is mostly about style and register:
With article (O Pedro)
- Very common in European Portuguese everyday speech.
- Slightly more informal / conversational.
Without article (Pedro)
- More common in formal writing, headlines, lists, or when calling someone directly.
- Also more typical in Brazilian Portuguese in many regions.
In Portugal, you’ll hear O Pedro more often in casual speech, but both forms are correct.
In Portuguese, the verb precisar (to need) normally requires the preposition de before its object:
- precisar de + noun
- O Pedro precisa de uma pausa.
- Ela precisa de ajuda.
So you cannot say precisa uma pausa; that sounds wrong to native speakers. You must say:
- precisa de uma pausa
- precisa de dinheiro
- precisa de tempo
Think of precisar de as one “unit”: to need (something).
In European Portuguese, you should always use de when precisar is followed by:
a noun:
- Preciso de dinheiro. (I need money.)
- Eles precisam de ajuda.
an infinitive verb:
- Preciso de estudar. (I need to study.)
- Ela precisa de descansar.
In Brazilian Portuguese, in informal speech, people often drop de before an infinitive:
- Preciso estudar. (Brazil, informal)
But since you’re learning Portuguese from Portugal, the safe rule is:
Use precisar de before both nouns and infinitives.
Because pausa is a feminine noun in Portuguese.
The indefinite article has to agree in gender with the noun:
- uma pausa (feminine)
- um livro (masculine)
- uma casa (feminine)
- um problema (masculine)
Many nouns ending in -a are feminine, so you often (not always) use a / uma with them:
- a mesa, uma mesa
- a porta, uma porta
- a pausa, uma pausa
So the correct form is uma pausa, not um pausa.
What exactly does no mean in no estudo?
[ANSWERANSWER]
No is a contraction of the preposition em (in/on/at) + the masculine singular article o (the):
- em + o = no → no estudo = in the study / in studying
- em + a = na → na escola = at the school
- em + os = nos → nos livros = in the books
- em + as = nas → nas aulas = in the classes
So no estudo literally means “in the study”, but here it is more naturally understood as “in his studying / in his study time” → i.e. “a break in/from studying”.
Portuguese doesn’t have to match English number (singular/plural) exactly. Both options exist, with a slight nuance:
no estudo (singular)
- Focuses more on the activity of studying as one continuous process.
- Sounds like “a break in his studying / in his study time”.
nos estudos (plural)
- Focuses more on schoolwork or academic work as a collection of things.
- Closer to “a break from his studies / from his schoolwork”.
So you can say:
- O Pedro precisa de uma pausa no estudo.
- O Pedro precisa de uma pausa nos estudos.
Both are correct; nos estudos may highlight more the idea of school/academic life, but the difference is small in many contexts.
Yes, you can say:
- O Pedro precisa de uma pausa dos estudos.
This means “Pedro needs a break from (his) studies.”
Here’s the nuance:
no estudo
- More literally: a pause in the studying.
- Slightly more abstract, focusing on the activity.
dos estudos (= de + os estudos)
- More clearly “from his studies”.
- Emphasises the school/academic aspect.
All of these are natural:
- O Pedro precisa de uma pausa no estudo.
- O Pedro precisa de uma pausa nos estudos.
- O Pedro precisa de uma pausa dos estudos.
The overall meaning is very similar; it’s mostly a stylistic choice.
All three can relate to “a break”, but with slightly different typical uses:
pausa
- General “pause/break” in an activity.
- Neutral and works well here.
- O Pedro precisa de uma pausa no estudo.
intervalo
- Often a scheduled break (like a recess, break between classes, or break in a performance).
- Temos um intervalo de 15 minutos.
descanso
- Focuses on rest, relaxing, recovering energy.
- Preciso de descanso. = I need rest.
In your sentence, you could also say:
- O Pedro precisa de um descanso. (He needs rest.)
- O Pedro precisa de um intervalo do estudo. (less common but understandable)
Pausa is a very natural choice for “a break from studying” in general.