O Pedro está apaixonado por cinema.

Pedro is passionate about cinema.

Breakdown of O Pedro está apaixonado por cinema.

• Pedro: Pedro
• estar: to be
• o cinema: the cinema
• por: about
• apaixonado: passionate

Questions & Answers about O Pedro está apaixonado por cinema.

Why is there an O before Pedro? In English we don’t say “The Pedro.”

In European Portuguese, it’s very common to use the definite article (o, a, os, as) before people’s first names:

• O Pedro – Pedro (literally the Pedro)
• A Ana – Ana

It doesn’t usually add a special meaning; it’s just a normal, neutral way of referring to someone:

• O Pedro está apaixonado por cinema.
• A Ana está cansada.

In more formal writing (news headlines, official documents) and in some styles of speech, the article may be omitted:

• Pedro está apaixonado por cinema. (also correct, just a bit more formal/neutral)

In everyday European Portuguese speech, using the article with names is very common. In Brazil, it’s much less common and can sound regional or marked.

When should I use the article with names, and when can I leave it out?

General tendencies in European Portuguese:

You usually use the article:

• In everyday conversation:
  • O João não vem. – João isn’t coming.
  • A Marta é minha amiga. – Marta is my friend.
• With family and friends:
  • A minha mãe, o meu pai, a Sofia…

You often drop the article:

• In official or formal written contexts:
  • Pedro Almodóvar realizou o filme.
• In lists (academic or business contexts):
  • Participantes: Pedro Silva, Ana Costa, João Ramos…
• In some fixed expressions:
  • Bom dia, Pedro.

In speech, for European Portuguese, if you’re in doubt, using the article with first names will sound natural in casual contexts.

Why is it está apaixonado and not é apaixonado? What is the difference?

Both estar apaixonado and ser apaixonado exist, but they don’t mean exactly the same:

• estar apaixonado por…

  • More temporary / current state
  • Often like “to be in love with” or “to be currently crazy about”
  • Can suggest something new or recent:
    • O Pedro está apaixonado por cinema. – Right now, he’s really into cinema.

• ser apaixonado por…

  • More permanent characteristic or strong, long‑term passion
  • Like “to be passionate about” as a stable trait:
    • O Pedro é apaixonado por cinema. – He’s (in general) a cinema lover.

In actual use, the difference is sometimes subtle, and both may be possible in the same context, but estar tends to highlight a current state; ser tends to highlight a lasting trait.

What does apaixonado literally mean, and what kind of word is it?

Apaixonado comes from the verb apaixonar(-se) – to fall in love (with).

• Grammatically, apaixonado is:
  • the past participle of apaixonar
  • used as an adjective meaning “in love” or “passionate”

It agrees in gender and number with the person:

• Masculine singular: apaixonado
  • O Pedro está apaixonado.
• Feminine singular: apaixonada
  • A Ana está apaixonada.
• Masculine plural: apaixonados
  • Os rapazes estão apaixonados.
• Feminine plural: apaixonadas
  • As raparigas estão apaixonadas.

If I talk about a woman, do I have to change apaixonado?

Yes. Adjectives in Portuguese agree with the gender and number of the noun/pronoun.

Examples:

• Masculine singular:
  • O Pedro está apaixonado por cinema.
• Feminine singular:
  • A Marta está apaixonada por cinema.
• Masculine plural:
  • Os estudantes estão apaixonados por cinema.
• Feminine plural:
  • As estudantes estão apaixonadas por cinema.

So for a woman, you must say apaixonada, not apaixonado.

Why is the preposition por used in apaixonado por cinema? Could we use something else?

With apaixonado and the verb apaixonar(-se), the normal preposition is por:

• estar apaixonado por alguém/alguma coisa
  • Ele está apaixonado por cinema.
  • Ela está apaixonada por música.
• apaixonar-se por alguém/alguma coisa
  • Ele apaixonou-se por cinema ainda criança.

Using por here is idiomatic and standard. Other prepositions (com, de, em) are not used with apaixonado in this meaning.

So you should learn the fixed pattern:
apaixonado por + [person/thing]

What’s the difference between por cinema and pelo cinema? Are both correct?

Both por cinema and pelo cinema are possible, but there is a nuance:

• por cinema

  • More general, more abstract
  • Roughly “for/with regard to cinema (as an art or field)”
  • Sounds very natural in O Pedro está apaixonado por cinema.

• pelo cinema = por + o cinema

  • A bit more specific or slightly more formal
  • Often translates as “for the cinema”
  • O Pedro é apaixonado pelo cinema.

In many real contexts, the difference is small, and speakers may alternate.
In this sentence, por cinema (without the article) is very natural to describe a passion for cinema in general.

Could I say apaixonado de cinema or apaixonado com cinema?

No, those are not correct in standard Portuguese.

With apaixonado, you should use:

• apaixonado por…
  • O Pedro está apaixonado por cinema.
  • Ela está apaixonada por literatura.

Using de or com here would sound wrong or foreign.
So it’s best to memorize apaixonado por as a fixed combination.

Why cinema and not filmes? What’s the difference?

In Portuguese:

• cinema can mean:

  1. The art/field of cinema (like “film/cinema” in an abstract sense):
     • Gosto muito de cinema. – I really like cinema (as an art).
  2. The place (the movie theater):
     • Vou ao cinema. – I’m going to the movies.

• filme(s) means specific films/movies:

  • Ele gosta de filmes de terror. – He likes horror movies.

So:

• apaixonado por cinema – passionate about cinema in general (as an art form)
• apaixonado por filmes de terror – passionate about horror films specifically

Do I need an article before cinema here, like por o cinema or pelo cinema?

You don’t need an article in this sentence:

• O Pedro está apaixonado por cinema. ✅

Leaving the article out is common when you talk about:

• subjects or fields in general: por cinema, por música, por literatura
• hobbies and areas of interest in a broad sense

You can use the article (pelo cinema) to make it slightly more specific or stylistically different:

• O Pedro é apaixonado pelo cinema. – Often used in slightly more formal or literary style.

Both are correct; por cinema is very natural when talking about a general passion.

Could I say O Pedro gosta muito de cinema instead? Is it the same meaning?

Yes, you can say:

• O Pedro gosta muito de cinema.

This is perfectly correct, but it’s weaker in emotion:

• gostar de – to like
  
  • gostar muito de – to like a lot, to really like
• estar/ser apaixonado por – to be in love with / passionate about

So:

• O Pedro gosta muito de cinema. – Pedro really likes cinema.
• O Pedro está apaixonado por cinema. – Pedro is in love with / crazy about cinema.

The second one sounds stronger, more emotional and enthusiastic.

Why is the verb estar used alone here? Is this a continuous form like English “is loving”?

In Portuguese, está apaixonado is not a continuous tense form like English “is loving”.

Structure:

• estar + adjective describes a state:
  • está cansado – is tired
  • está contente – is happy
  • está apaixonado – is in love / is passionate

This is different from estar a + infinitive, which is the true present continuous in European Portuguese:

• Está a comer. – He is eating.
• Está a estudar. – He is studying.

So in O Pedro está apaixonado por cinema, está is just the verb “to be” + an adjective (apaixonado), describing Pedro’s current emotional state.

How do I pronounce está apaixonado por cinema in European Portuguese?

Very approximately in English-like sounds (European Portuguese):

• está – “esh‑TAH”

  • initial e like weak “uh”,
  • s before t sounds like English “sh”,
  • stress on ‑tá.

• apaixonado – “uh‑pai‑shoh‑NAH‑doo”

  • x = “sh”
  • main stress on NA: a‑pai‑sho‑NA‑do

• por – “poor” but with a quick, Portuguese r (guttural or flapped, depending on accent), and the vowel often quite short.

• cinema – “see‑NEH‑muh”

  • stressed on NE.

Spoken naturally, it can link together:

• O Pedro está apaixonado por cinema.
  ≈ “oo PE-dru esh‑TA ah‑pai‑shoh‑NAH‑doo por see‑NEH‑muh” (very rough guide)

Is the word order está apaixonado por cinema flexible? Could I move apaixonado somewhere else?

In this type of sentence, the word order is not really flexible. The natural pattern is:

• [Subject] + estar + [adjective] + (preposition + complement)

So:

• O Pedro está apaixonado por cinema. ✅ (natural)
• ❌ O Pedro apaixonado está por cinema.
• ❌ O Pedro está por cinema apaixonado.

You can, however, add emphasis with intonation or extra words, but the core order estar + adjective + complement stays the same.