Breakdown of A disciplina de português exige leitura diária.
Questions & Answers about A disciplina de português exige leitura diária.
In Portuguese, you normally use the definite article (o, a, os, as) with nouns much more than in English.
- A disciplina de português ≈ The Portuguese class / The Portuguese subject
- Without the article, Disciplina de português would sound incomplete or like a title in a list (e.g. on a timetable, a heading).
So in a normal sentence you should keep the article: A disciplina de português...
In this context, disciplina means school subject / course, not discipline in the sense of good behaviour.
- disciplina = school subject, course, module
- A disciplina de português = the Portuguese class / course
- disciplina can also mean discipline (self-control, strictness), but you get that meaning from context, not from the word itself.
In schools and universities in Portugal, disciplina is a very common word for an individual subject.
In Portuguese, names of languages and nationalities are not capitalised unless they start a sentence:
- português, inglês, francês, alemão
- O Português only if it begins the sentence: Português é uma língua românica.
So disciplina de português is correct with a lower-case p.
De and do are different:
de + português → de português
- means of Portuguese (as a subject)
- disciplina de português = Portuguese subject / course
de + o português → do português
- literally of the Portuguese
- could mean of the Portuguese language or of the Portuguese person depending on context
For a school subject, the idiomatic phrase is disciplina de português, not disciplina do português.
Exige is the 3rd person singular present form of the verb exigir (to demand / to require).
- Infinitive: exigir (to require)
- 3rd person singular (ele/ela/você): exige (he/she/it requires)
The subject of the verb is a disciplina de português (singular), so you need the singular form:
- A disciplina de português exige leitura diária.
- The Portuguese class requires daily reading.
Yes, both exigir and requerer can work:
- A disciplina de português exige leitura diária.
- A disciplina de português requer leitura diária.
Differences in feel:
- exige – a bit stronger; suggests a firm requirement
- requer – slightly more formal, more neutral (requires)
In everyday-school language, exige is very natural and common.
Both are possible, but they have different structures:
- leitura diária = daily reading (noun + adjective)
- more compact, a bit more formal or written
- ler todos os dias = to read every day (verb phrase)
- more direct, feels more conversational
For example:
- A disciplina de português exige leitura diária.
- A disciplina de português exige que se leia todos os dias.
- Na disciplina de português, tens de ler todos os dias.
The original sentence uses a noun phrase (leitura diária), which is very typical in descriptions of course requirements.
In Portuguese, adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.
- leitura is feminine singular (a leitura)
- so the adjective must also be feminine singular: diária
Patterns:
- masculine singular: diário (ex.: um jornal diário)
- feminine singular: diária (ex.: leitura diária)
- masculine plural: diários
- feminine plural: diárias
So leitura diária is grammatically correct.
Yes, but you must change the structure slightly:
- A disciplina de português exige leitura diária.
- literally: requires daily reading (adjective modifying the noun leitura)
If you use the adverb diariamente (daily), you typically attach it to a verb:
- A disciplina de português exige que se leia diariamente.
- The Portuguese class requires that one read daily.
- A disciplina de português exige ler diariamente.
- The Portuguese class requires reading daily.
So diária describes the reading as a type (daily reading), while diariamente describes when/how often the reading is done.
Both are possible, but they feel slightly different:
exige leitura diária
- more generic, like saying requires daily reading (in general)
- very natural in course descriptions, rules, etc.
exige a leitura diária
- literally requires the daily reading
- sounds more specific, as if referring to a particular planned reading (e.g. a set of daily texts in the syllabus)
In most neutral, general statements about a course requirement, Portuguese often omits the article: exigir leitura diária.
Some changes are possible; others are not natural:
- exige leitura diária – natural and standard
- exige leitura diariamente – also correct; more focus on the frequency (requires reading daily)
But:
- exige diária leitura – sounds wrong/poetic at best; in normal Portuguese the adjective usually follows the noun in this kind of expression.
So you should stick with leitura diária or change diária to diariamente and attach it to a verb.
Approximate European Portuguese pronunciation (using English-like hints):
exige
- IPA: [eˈziʒɨ]
- e = like e in bet, but shorter and tenser
- x here sounds like z
- gi = zh sound, like the s in measure
- final e is a very reduced vowel, similar to an unstressed uh
Roughly: eh-ZEE-zh(uh)
diária
- IPA: [diˈaɾiɐ]
- di = dee
- á = stressed a, like in father but shorter
- r = a light tap/flap, like a quick d in American English ladder
- final a is a reduced vowel, similar to a very short uh
Roughly: dee-AH-ree-uh (with a very weak last vowel).
Yes, there are nuances:
disciplina de português
- usually a school/university subject (one unit in a study plan)
aulas de português
- the lessons / classes themselves
- Tenho aulas de português às segundas. = I have Portuguese classes on Mondays.
curso de português
- a course/programme as a whole
- often a language course you enrol in: um curso de português para estrangeiros
In the original sentence (referring to a subject that has requirements), disciplina de português is the most precise.