Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Ela prefere um turno de manhã, porque estuda à tarde. - She prefers a morning shift because she studies in the afternoon.

work shifts:
- turno da manhã – morning shift
- turno da tarde – afternoon shift
- turno da noite – night shift
school schedules:
- andar no turno da manhã – attend school in the morning
- andar no turno da tarde – attend school in the afternoon

So um turno de manhã is essentially a morning shift / a morning slot. It can be for work or study, depending on the context.

Why is it um turno and not o turno, or just turno with no article?

um turno = a shift / one shift, but not a specific one; it’s indefinite.
- She prefers a morning shift (in general), as opposed to other kinds of shifts.
o turno = the shift, referring to a specific, known shift.
- Ela prefere o turno da manhã. – She prefers the morning shift (the one we both know about).
In Portuguese, unlike English, you usually cannot drop the article in this kind of noun phrase.
- Ela prefere turno de manhã is ungrammatical.

So um turno matches the English idea of “a morning shift” (not a particular, previously mentioned one).

Why is it de manhã and not na manhã or da manhã?

de manhã is a set expression meaning in the morning in a general, habitual way.

de manhã – in the morning (as a time of day, generally)
- Trabalho de manhã. – I work in the morning.
na manhã – literally in the morning, but referring to a specific morning, much less common and usually followed by more detail:
- Na manhã de segunda-feira houve uma reunião. – On Monday morning there was a meeting.
da manhã – usually used after a clock time:
- São três da manhã. – It’s three in the morning.

So for stating a typical time when something happens regularly, you use de manhã, not na manhã or da manhã.

Why is there an accent in à tarde? What’s the difference between à tarde, a tarde, and da tarde?

à tarde has a grave accent (à), which marks a contraction in Portuguese called crase:
a (preposition) + a (feminine definite article) → à

à tarde = literally to the afternoon, but idiomatically in the afternoon (habitual / general):
- Ela estuda à tarde. – She studies in the afternoon.
a tarde (without accent) would just be the afternoon as a noun phrase:
- Gosto da tarde. – I like the afternoon.
da tarde = of the afternoon / in the afternoon when used with times:
- São quatro da tarde. – It’s four in the afternoon.

So in this sentence, à tarde is the fixed time expression meaning in the afternoon, and the accent tells you there is a contraction (crase).

Why is it de manhã but à tarde? Is there a rule or is it just idiomatic?

This is largely idiomatic, based on fixed expressions that have become standard.

In European Portuguese, the most typical combinations are:

de manhã – in the morning
à tarde – in the afternoon
à noite – at night

You can find de tarde or de noite, but à tarde / à noite are more standard in Portugal.

A useful way to remember:

de manhã – you always say it that way for “in the morning”.
à tarde / à noite – very common, idiomatic options for “in the afternoon / at night”.

So: learn de manhã, à tarde, à noite as set expressions rather than trying to derive them from a general preposition rule.

Could we say porque ela estuda à tarde instead of porque estuda à tarde?

Yes, both are correct:

Ela prefere um turno de manhã, porque estuda à tarde.
Ela prefere um turno de manhã, porque ela estuda à tarde.

Portuguese is a pro-drop language: the subject pronoun (ela, ele, eu, etc.) can be omitted when the verb ending already tells you who the subject is.

estuda clearly indicates ele/ela/você (3rd person singular), so ela is not obligatory.

In writing, especially in European Portuguese, it’s very common to leave out repeated subject pronouns when the meaning is clear.

How are prefere and estuda formed? Which tense and person are they?

Both verbs are in the present indicative, 3rd person singular.

preferir (to prefer) – present indicative:
- eu prefiro
- tu preferes
- ele/ela/você prefere
- nós preferimos
- vocês preferem
- eles/elas preferem
estudar (to study) – present indicative:
- eu estudo
- tu estudas
- ele/ela/você estuda
- nós estudamos
- vocês estudam
- eles/elas estudam

In the sentence:

Ela prefere – She prefers
(ela) estuda – (she) studies

The present tense in Portuguese, like in English, can express habitual actions:

Ela estuda à tarde. – She studies in the afternoon (as a routine).

In English we say “prefer to work in the morning”. Does preferir need a preposition in Portuguese?

No preposition is needed before a verb in this structure:

English: She prefers to work in the morning.
Portuguese: Ela prefere trabalhar de manhã.
(not prefere de trabalhar or prefere a trabalhar in this meaning)

Common patterns:

Preferir + noun:
- Ela prefere um turno de manhã. – She prefers a morning shift.
Preferir + infinitive:
- Ela prefere trabalhar de manhã. – She prefers to work in the morning.
Preferir X a Y:
- Ela prefere um turno de manhã a um turno à noite. – She prefers a morning shift to a night shift.

So you only add a when explicitly comparing two things (X a Y), not before the verb in the sense of “prefer to do something”.

Is the comma before porque obligatory here?

No, it’s optional in this specific sentence.

Ela prefere um turno de manhã porque estuda à tarde.
Ela prefere um turno de manhã, porque estuda à tarde.

Both are acceptable. In many style guides:

If the porque-clause gives a direct, essential reason, you usually don’t need a comma.
If the reason is more like an added explanation, a comma is more acceptable.

In everyday writing, many native speakers would probably leave out the comma here.

What’s the difference between porque, por que, por quê, and porquê?

They look similar but are used differently:

porque – because / why (in indirect questions)
- Ela prefere um turno de manhã porque estuda à tarde. – because
- Não sei porque ela prefere esse turno. – I don’t know why she prefers that shift.
por que – why (in direct questions) or for which
- Por que ela prefere um turno de manhã? – Why does she prefer a morning shift?
por quê – why, used only at the end of a sentence or before a pause
- Ela prefere um turno de manhã. Por quê? – She prefers a morning shift. Why?
porquê – the reason, a noun
- Ninguém sabe o porquê da decisão. – Nobody knows the reason for the decision.

In your sentence, you’re giving a reason, so you must use porque (“because”).

Can we move the porque-clause to the beginning, like in English?

Yes, you can say:

Porque estuda à tarde, ela prefere um turno de manhã.

This is perfectly grammatical and natural. The meaning is the same; you’re just highlighting the reason first.

Note:

When the porque-clause comes first, you do use a comma before the main clause:
- Porque estuda à tarde, ela prefere um turno de manhã.

Are there any pronunciation points in this sentence that are tricky for English speakers (European Portuguese)?

Yes, a few:

Ela – the e is very short, like “EH-la”, not “EE-la”.
prefere – three syllables: pre-FE-re.
- In European Portuguese, final e is often quite reduced: something like prə-FE-r(ə).
turno – TUR-no, with a fairly clear r (not rolled strongly in European urban speech; often a uvular / guttural sound).
manhã – the ã is nasal. Don’t pronounce a clear “a” plus “n”; the vowel itself is nasalized. Approx: mah-NYÃ.
porque – in European Portuguese, often sounds like “pur-ke” or “pur-kə”, with a weak final vowel.
estuda – esh-TU-da in many EP accents; e very light, u like “oo”.
à tarde – à is like a broad “ah”; tarde is TAR-d(ə) (final e very reduced or almost silent).

Listening to European Portuguese speakers saying de manhã / à tarde / porque estuda will help a lot with these reductions and nasal vowels.

Would Brazilians say this sentence the same way, or is there a Brazilian Portuguese variant?

The sentence is fully understandable in Brazil, but some preferences differ:

European Portuguese (given sentence):

Ela prefere um turno de manhã, porque estuda à tarde.

A very natural Brazilian Portuguese version might be:

Ela prefere o turno da manhã, porque estuda à tarde.
Or: Ela prefere trabalhar de manhã, porque estuda à tarde.

Notes:

In Brazil, turno da manhã / da tarde is very common when talking about school periods.
à tarde is also used in Brazil, though de tarde is quite frequent there too.
Pronunciation is noticeably different between European and Brazilian Portuguese, especially in vowel quality and rhythm.

But grammatically, your original sentence works in both varieties.