Apesar de estar nervoso, eu continuo a estudar para o exame.

Despite being nervous, I keep studying for the exam.

Breakdown of Apesar de estar nervoso, eu continuo a estudar para o exame.

• eu: I
• estar: to be
• estudar: to study
• para: for
• o exame: the exam
• continuar: to continue
• nervoso: nervous
• apesar de: although

Questions & Answers about Apesar de estar nervoso, eu continuo a estudar para o exame.

Why is it estar and not estou after apesar de?

In European Portuguese, apesar de is treated like a preposition (de) followed by a verb, so that verb normally appears in the infinitive:

• apesar de estar nervoso = “despite being nervous”

After prepositions (de, em, por, para, sem, com, etc.), Portuguese uses the infinitive, not a conjugated form:

• antes de sair – before leaving
• depois de comer – after eating
• sem dizer nada – without saying anything

So you say:

• ✅ apesar de estar nervoso
• ✅ apesar de eu estar nervoso
• ❌ apesar de eu estou nervoso

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Can I say apesar de eu estar nervoso or apesar de que estou nervoso? Are they different?

Yes, they exist, but they’re not equally common in European Portuguese.

1. apesar de estar nervoso

   • Subject (“I”) is understood from context.
   • Very natural and common.

2. apesar de eu estar nervoso

   • Same structure, but the subject eu is explicit.
   • Used when you want to emphasise the subject or avoid ambiguity:
     • Apesar de ele estar nervoso, eu continuo a estudar.
       (Two different subjects: he is nervous, I continue studying.)

3. apesar de que estou nervoso / apesar de que eu estou nervoso

   • Uses apesar de que as a conjunction.
   • In European Portuguese this is more formal / literary and much less common in speech.
   • You’re more likely to hear this kind of structure in Brazilian Portuguese.

For everyday European Portuguese, prefer:

• Apesar de estar nervoso, continuo a estudar.
• Apesar de eu estar nervoso, continuo a estudar. (if you want to stress I)

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Why is it continuo a estudar and not something like continuo estudando?

In European Portuguese, the most natural pattern is:

• continuar a + infinitive
  → continuo a estudar – “I keep on studying / I continue to study”

The form continuar + gerúndio (e.g. continuo estudando) is:

• Very common in Brazilian Portuguese.
• Much less natural in European Portuguese; it sounds clearly Brazilian.

So, in Portugal:

• ✅ eu continuo a estudar
• ❌ eu continuo estudando (understood, but not idiomatic in Portugal)

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Do I need the pronoun eu, or can I just say Continuo a estudar para o exame?

You can drop eu, and that’s actually more typical:

• Apesar de estar nervoso, continuo a estudar para o exame.

Portuguese is a “null-subject” language: the verb ending (continuo) already tells you the subject is eu.

Use eu mainly when you want to:

• Emphasise contrast:
  Eles desistem, mas eu continuo a estudar.
• Avoid confusion about who is doing the action.

So both are correct, but in a neutral context omitting “eu” is more natural.

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Why is it nervoso and not nervosa?

The adjective must agree in gender and number with the subject.

• nervoso – masculine singular
• nervosa – feminine singular
• nervosos – masculine plural / mixed group
• nervosas – feminine plural

In the sentence, nervoso implies the speaker (or the person referred to by eu) is male. If the speaker is female, you would say:

• Apesar de estar nervosa, eu continuo a estudar para o exame.

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Can I change the order of the two parts and say:
Eu continuo a estudar para o exame, apesar de estar nervoso?

Yes. Both orders are correct:

• Apesar de estar nervoso, eu continuo a estudar para o exame.
• Eu continuo a estudar para o exame, apesar de estar nervoso.

The meaning is the same. The difference is just focus:

• Starting with Apesar de… highlights the difficulty/obstacle first.
• Starting with Eu continuo… highlights the action first (that you keep studying).

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Why is there a comma after nervoso?

Because “Apesar de estar nervoso” is an introductory subordinate clause (a concessive clause: “despite being nervous”).

In Portuguese, when such a clause comes before the main clause, you normally separate it with a comma:

• Embora esteja cansado, vou trabalhar.
• Apesar de chover, eles foram à praia.

If you put the concessive clause after the main clause, the comma is often optional but common:

• Vou trabalhar, embora esteja cansado.
• Eles foram à praia, apesar de chover.

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Why is it para o exame and not just para exame?

The article o shows that we’re talking about a specific exam that both speaker and listener know about:

• para o exame – for the (particular) exam
• para exames – for exams (in general, plural)
• para um exame – for an exam (one, not further specified)

In this context (someone is preparing for a known upcoming exam), para o exame is the natural choice.
Para exame without the article is unusual here and sounds incomplete.

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Why is it para the exam and not por the exam?

In this sentence, para expresses purpose / goal:

• estudar para o exame – to study for the exam (in order to prepare for it)

por would not be used for this meaning. It’s used for ideas like:

• cause: Fiquei nervoso por causa do exame. – I got nervous because of the exam.
• exchange: Paguei 20 euros por este livro. – I paid 20 euros for this book.
• movement through: Passei por Lisboa. – I passed through Lisbon.

So for “study for an exam”, always use para:

• estudar para um teste / para o exame / para o concurso

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Is there another common way to say this, like with embora instead of apesar de?

Yes. A very common alternative is with embora + subjunctive:

• Embora esteja nervoso, eu continuo a estudar para o exame.

Rough comparison:

• apesar de + infinitive:
  Apesar de estar nervoso, continuo a estudar…
• embora + conjunctive (subjunctive):
  Embora esteja nervoso, continuo a estudar…

Both are correct and natural in European Portuguese.
The nuance difference is small; embora tends to feel a bit more formal or “bookish” than apesar de in everyday speech, but both are widely used.