Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): A empresa precisa de uma programadora, por isso eu quero mostrar que já estou a programar bem. - The company needs a female programmer, so I want to show that I’m already programming well.

Correct:
- A empresa precisa *de uma programadora.* – The company needs a programmer.
- Eu preciso *de ajuda.* – I need help.
Incorrect / very unusual:
- A empresa precisa uma programadora. ✗

You can think of precisar de as a fixed expression meaning “to need”. Leaving out de is felt as incorrect in standard European Portuguese (though you may hear it in some colloquial speech or under Brazilian influence).

What is the difference between “precisar de” and “necessitar de”?

Both can mean “to need”, but there are differences in frequency and tone:

precisar de
- Most common, everyday verb for “to need”
- Neutral, used in all contexts
- A empresa precisa de uma programadora.
necessitar de
- More formal or technical
- Common in written language, bureaucracy, legal, or technical contexts
- O projeto necessita de aprovação. – The project requires approval.

In speech, you’ll hear precisar de far more often. Using necessitar de in this sentence would sound a bit formal or stiff in everyday conversation.

Why is it “uma programadora” and not “um programador”?

Portuguese nouns usually agree in gender (masculine/feminine) with the person they refer to:

um programador – a (male) programmer
uma programadora – a (female) programmer

The sentence assumes the company wants a woman programmer, so it uses the feminine form: uma programadora.

If the company doesn’t care about gender, people often just use the masculine plural for mixed groups, but in the singular you’d normally pick one:

A empresa precisa de *um programador.* – They want a male programmer.
A empresa precisa de *uma programadora.* – They want a female programmer.

In more inclusive language, you might see written forms like “programador(a)”, but in speech you must choose one form.

If I am a man talking about myself, should I change anything?

Yes, if you are the one who is or wants to be hired and you are male, you would normally say:

A empresa precisa de *um programador, por isso eu quero mostrar que já estou a programar bem.*

The rest of the sentence (“eu quero mostrar que já estou a programar bem”) does not change with your gender. Only nouns and some adjectives change: programador/programadora, motivado/motivada, etc.

What does “por isso” mean exactly, and how is it different from “porque”?

por isso = “so / therefore” → introduces a result or consequence
porque = “because” → introduces a reason or cause

In your sentence:

A empresa precisa de uma programadora,
→ por isso (as a result of that)
→ eu quero mostrar que já estou a programar bem.

If you replaced por isso with porque, the logic would flip and the sentence would stop making sense:

✗ A empresa precisa de uma programadora, *porque eu quero mostrar que já estou a programar bem.
= *The company needs a programmer because I want to show that I’m already programming well.
(This sounds illogical: the company’s need doesn’t come from your desire.)

Could I use “então” instead of “por isso”?

You can, but there’s a nuance:

por isso
- More neutral, a bit more formal
- Clear logical connector: therefore / so
então
- Very common in spoken Portuguese
- Often sounds more colloquial and can also mean “then / well / so (in that case)”
- In your sentence:
  - A empresa precisa de uma programadora, então eu quero mostrar que já estou a programar bem.

In a formal text or exam, por isso is the safer choice. In everyday speech, então is extremely frequent and quite natural.

Why is it “já estou a programar” instead of “estou a programar já”?

“Já” (already) usually comes before the verb phrase in neutral word order:

normal: já estou a programar bem
less usual / marked: estou já a programar bem

You can move já for emphasis, but it sounds more formal or poetic, or it stresses the adverb:

Eu *já estou a programar bem.* – neutral, informative
Eu estou *já a programar bem. – highlights the *“already” a bit more

For everyday speech and writing, place já before estou as in the original sentence.

What is the function of “já” here? Does it mean “now” or “already”?

Here “já” primarily means “already”, with an implied idea of progress or improvement:

…mostrar que *já estou a programar bem.
= …to show that I’m already programming well (now, at this point).*

There’s a subtle nuance:

Without já: estou a programar bem – I’m programming well (simple statement).
With já: já estou a programar bem – I didn’t before, but now I already am.

So it suggests that before you weren’t good yet, but now you have reached a good level.

Why is it “estou a programar” and not something like “estou programando”?

This is a key difference between European and Brazilian Portuguese:

European Portuguese:
Uses “estar a + infinitive” for the present continuous:
- estou a programar – I am programming
- estamos a trabalhar – we are working
Brazilian Portuguese:
Uses “estar + gerúndio (-ndo)”:
- estou programando
- estamos trabalhando

In Portugal, “estou programando” is understood but sounds Brazilian or non-native. The natural form is “estou a programar”.

Could I say “já sei programar bem” instead of “já estou a programar bem”?

Yes, but the nuance changes:

já estou a programar bem
- Focus on what you’re currently doing and how you’re performing now
- Implies: your ongoing programming work is already of good quality.
já sei programar bem
- Focus on your ability/skill (knowing how to program well)
- Implies: you have acquired the skill; you know how to do it.

Both are correct and natural; you just choose depending on whether you want to emphasize current performance (estou a programar bem) or general competence (sei programar bem).

Do I really need the pronoun “eu” in “eu quero mostrar”?

No, subject pronouns are often dropped in Portuguese because the verb ending already shows the person:

With pronoun (emphasis or clarity):
- …*eu quero mostrar…* – I want to show…
Without pronoun (very natural):
- …quero mostrar… – want to show…

Both are correct.
In this sentence, por isso quero mostrar que… is perfectly natural and maybe even a bit more idiomatic in European Portuguese.

Could I change the word order and say “por isso quero mostrar que…” instead of “por isso eu quero mostrar que…”?

Yes, and that’s very common and natural:

…por isso *eu quero mostrar que… – neutral; slight emphasis on *I.
…por isso *quero mostrar que…* – also neutral; a bit more flowing, and typical in European Portuguese where the subject pronoun is often dropped.

Use “por isso quero mostrar…” if the subject is clear from context; add “eu” if you want to stress that you specifically are the one who wants to show this.

Why is it “a empresa” and not “o empresa”? How do I know the gender?

In Portuguese, every noun has grammatical gender, which is often but not always predictable:

empresa (company) is feminine, so:
- a empresa – the company
- uma empresa – a company

Many nouns ending in -a are feminine, but there are exceptions (o problema is masculine, for example). For empresa, you simply have to learn it as feminine:
a empresa, uma empresa, esta empresa.

The article and any adjectives must agree:

A empresa é grande. – The company is big.
Esta empresa portuguesa precisa de uma programadora.

Is “quero mostrar” polite enough, or should I use something else to sound less direct?

“Quero mostrar” is direct and neutral; not rude, but quite straightforward.
If you want to sound more polite / softer, you can use:

Gostava de mostrar que já estou a programar bem.
– I would like to show that I’m already programming well.
Queria mostrar que já estou a programar bem.
– I wanted / would like to show that I’m already programming well.

In European Portuguese, using gostava de or queria in this way is very common to make requests or statements sound less blunt.