Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): O penálti foi repetido porque o árbitro não ouviu bem o apito. - The penalty was repeated because the referee didn’t hear the whistle well.

It shows where the stress falls: pe-NÁL-ti (stress on the middle syllable).
It tells you the vowel is an open /a/ sound, like the a in English father.

In European Portuguese, penálti is pronounced roughly:

[pe-ˈnaɫ-ti]
- pe like peh
- ná like nah (stressed)
- lti with a dark l, a bit like l in English ball, then ti

It is also a loanword from English penalty, adapted to Portuguese spelling and stress patterns. In Brazilian Portuguese the usual spelling is pênalti (accent on ê, different stress pattern: PÊ-nal-ti).

Why is it o penálti (masculine)? Can it be feminine?

In European Portuguese, penálti is grammatically masculine, so it takes o:

o penálti = the penalty
os penáltis = the penalties (plural)

It is not used as feminine, so a penálti would sound wrong.

More “formal” or traditional Portuguese sometimes uses a grande penalidade (feminine), but that is a different expression (literally “the big penalty” – the penalty kick). In everyday football talk, o penálti is the normal form.

What grammatical structure is foi repetido, and what does it express?

Foi repetido is a passive voice construction in the pretérito perfeito (simple past):

foi = 3rd person singular of ser in the past (ele/ela foi)
repetido = past participle of repetir

So:

O penálti foi repetido = The penalty was retaken / was repeated.

This focuses on the event (the penalty being retaken) rather than on who did the action. It’s like English passive: was done, was cancelled, was awarded, etc., and is very common in match commentary and reports.

Could you also say Repetiram o penálti instead of O penálti foi repetido? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say:

Repetiram o penálti porque o árbitro não ouviu bem o apito.

This is an active sentence with an implicit subject:

Literally: [They] retook the penalty because the referee didn’t hear the whistle properly.

Differences:

O penálti foi repetido…
- Passive.
- Neutral/formal, typical of news reports and written descriptions.
- Emphasizes the penalty (the event).
Repetiram o penálti…
- Active voice, but the subject is not said (understood as “they” – the officials).
- Sounds more conversational, like match commentary: Then they retook the penalty…

Both are correct; choice depends on style and focus.

Why is it porque (one word) and not por que (two words) here?

Porque (one word) is a conjunction meaning “because”:

…porque o árbitro não ouviu bem o apito.
= …because the referee didn’t hear the whistle properly.

Por que (two words) is generally:

Used in questions:
- Por que fizeste isso? = Why did you do that?
Or in certain relative clauses with a preposition (more advanced use).

In this sentence we are giving a reason, not asking a question, so it must be porque (because), not por que.

Why do all the nouns have the definite article o: o penálti, o árbitro, o apito? Could we leave it out?

In Portuguese, the definite article is used much more than in English. Here:

o penálti = the penalty (a specific one in the match)
o árbitro = the referee (the one officiating this match)
o apito = the whistle (the specific whistle sound in question)

You cannot drop the article here the way English sometimes can. For example:

Ø Árbitro não ouviu bem o apito. ❌ (wrong/unnatural)
O árbitro não ouviu bem o apito. ✅

Whenever you refer to specific, identifiable people or things, you normally use o/a/os/as in Portuguese, even where English might drop the.

What is the difference between ouvir and escutar? Could we say não escutou bem o apito?

Both ouvir and escutar relate to hearing, but there is a nuance:

ouvir = to hear, in general (both involuntary and voluntary)
escutar = to listen (to), more active, paying attention

In everyday speech, they are often used interchangeably, especially in Portugal.

You could say:

O penálti foi repetido porque o árbitro não escutou bem o apito.

It is grammatically correct and understandable. That said, ouvir o apito is more standard and common in this context (he simply didn’t hear it properly, not so much that he refused to listen).

Why is the word order não ouviu bem o apito instead of não ouviu o apito bem?

Portuguese adverbs like bem usually go right after the verb:

ouviu bem = heard well / heard properly

So the natural order is:

…não ouviu bem o apito. ✅ (most natural)

You can say …não ouviu o apito bem, and it’s still understandable, but it sounds less neutral and a bit marked or emphatic.

General guideline:

Verb + adverb + rest of sentence: ouviu bem o apito, jogou mal o jogo, falou claramente a resposta.

What extra meaning does bem add in não ouviu bem o apito? Is it necessary?

Without bem:

O árbitro não ouviu o apito.
= The referee didn’t hear the whistle at all (or we imply he didn’t hear it).

With bem:

O árbitro não ouviu bem o apito.
= The referee didn’t hear the whistle properly / clearly (maybe he heard something, but not well enough).

So bem softens the negation:

It suggests poor quality of hearing, not total absence.
It matches English “didn’t hear it very well / didn’t hear it clearly”.

It’s not grammatically required, but it changes the nuance.

How is árbitro pronounced, especially the á and the r sounds?

In European Portuguese, árbitro is pronounced approximately:

[ˈaɾ.bi.tɾu]
- ÁR: stressed a, like ah in father.
- bi: like bee but shorter.
- tro: tr pronounced together, final o often close to oo or a reduced sound.

About the r:

The first r in árbitro (between vowels) is usually a single flap [ɾ], similar to the t in American English water (when said quickly) or the Spanish single r in pero.
There is no strong guttural rr here (like in carro).

Stress is on the first syllable: ÁR-bi-tro.

Why is it repetido and not repetida in foi repetido?

In the passive voice, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject:

Subject: O penálti → masculine singular.
Past participle: repetido → masculine singular form of repetir.

If the subject were feminine, it would change:

A grande penalidade foi repetida.
(The penalty kick was retaken.)
→ penalidade is feminine → repetida.

Here, because penálti is masculine, we must say foi repetido.

What does apito mean exactly, and is it just the object or also the sound?

Apito can mean both:

The object: a whistle (the physical thing the referee blows).
The sound of the whistle: the whistle sound or whistling.

In this sentence:

não ouviu bem o apito
can be understood as didn’t hear the whistle sound properly.

In football context, that’s the usual reading: the issue is that he didn’t hear the sound of another official’s whistle (or a previous sound), which led to the penalty being retaken.