Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Ultimamente o Pedro anda a programar no computador à noite. - Lately Pedro has been programming on the computer at night.

Ultimamente o Pedro anda a programar… – very normal, slightly informal.
Ultimamente Pedro anda a programar… – correct, a bit more “bare”/formal-sounding.

What exactly does anda a programar mean? Is it just “is programming”?

Andar a + infinitive is a special aspect construction in Portuguese.

andar a programar roughly means:

“to be spending time programming (these days)”
“to go around programming / to keep programming”

It suggests:

an activity that is repeated or ongoing over a period, not necessarily at this exact moment;
often something new or noteworthy in the recent period.

So anda a programar is closer to English “has been programming” or “has been doing a lot of programming”, rather than a simple “is programming right now”.

What’s the difference between anda a programar and está a programar?

Both are progressive-type forms in European Portuguese, but with different nuances:

está a programar
= “is programming (now / at this time)”
Focus on the current ongoing action or a temporary situation.
anda a programar
= “has been programming / goes around programming”
Focus on an activity repeated or spread out over a recent period, often with the idea “these days / lately”.

In the sentence:

Ultimamente o Pedro anda a programar no computador à noite.
This suggests a recent habit or pattern: lately, on many nights, he’s been programming.

If you said:

Ultimamente o Pedro está a programar no computador à noite.
It would still be understandable, but it sounds more like a temporary situation currently happening these days, slightly less “scattered” and habitual than andar a.

Could we just say O Pedro programa no computador à noite? What changes?

You can say it, but the nuance is different:

O Pedro programa no computador à noite.
= “Pedro programs on the computer at night.”
This sounds like a general, stable habit (something he usually does).
Ultimamente o Pedro anda a programar no computador à noite.
= “Lately, Pedro has been programming on the computer at night.”
This suggests a newer or recently intensified habit. Maybe he didn’t use to do this, and now (recently) he does it a lot.

With ultimamente, the construction anda a programar is more natural than simply programa, because ultimamente focuses on a recent period, not on a timeless routine.

What does andar literally mean here? Does it still mean “to walk”?

Literally, andar means “to walk” or “to go around”:

O Pedro anda muito. – “Pedro walks a lot.”

But andar + a + infinitive is an idiomatic construction:

andar a programar
andar a estudar
andar a ler

Here andar no longer means physical walking; it functions more like an aspect verb, similar to English “to go around doing” or “to be (in general) doing (these days)”.

So in this sentence, anda is not about movement; it’s marking the type of ongoing/repeated action.

Why is Ultimamente at the beginning? Can I put it in other positions?

Ultimamente means “lately / recently”. Putting it first is very natural:

Ultimamente o Pedro anda a programar no computador à noite.

Other possible positions:

O Pedro, ultimamente, anda a programar no computador à noite.
– Also natural; the commas add a slight pause/emphasis.
O Pedro anda, ultimamente, a programar no computador à noite.
– Possible, but sounds more marked and a bit fussy.
O Pedro anda a programar no computador à noite ultimamente.
– Understandable, but less common; ultimamente tends to appear earlier in the sentence.

So the original word order, with Ultimamente at the start, is the most standard and neutral.

What does no computador literally mean, and how is no formed?

no is a contraction of em + o:

em = “in / on / at”
o = “the” (masculine singular)
em + o → no

So no computador literally means “in/on the computer”, and in this context it’s best translated as “on the computer” (using a computer).

Other examples:

no carro – in the car
no trabalho – at work
no telemóvel – on the mobile phone

Why do we say no computador and not something with a (like ao computador)?

With devices or locations, Portuguese normally uses em (→ no, na) rather than a:

programar no computador – program on the computer
trabalhar no portátil – work on the laptop
escrever no telemóvel – type on the phone

a + o → ao is used more for:

direction / movement: vou ao computador is odd; you’d usually say vou ao quarto, vou ao escritório (“I’m going to the bedroom/office”)
certain set expressions.

So for “on the computer”, no computador (em + o) is the standard form, not ao computador.

Why is à noite written with a grave accent? What’s the difference between a noite and à noite?

à is a contraction of a + a with a grave accent:

preposition a (“to / at”)
feminine singular article a (“the”)
a + a → à

So:

à noite = “at night / in the evening”
- literally: “at the night”
a noite (without accent) = “the night” as a noun phrase, subject or object:
- A noite está fria. – “The night is cold.”

In time expressions like:

à noite – at night
à tarde – in the afternoon
à sexta-feira – on Fridays

you almost always need à (with the accent), not bare a.

What’s the difference between à noite and de noite?

Both are common and both mean roughly “at night / in the evening”, but there are slight nuances:

à noite
- Very frequent, slightly more neutral.
- Often used when talking about a regular time period:
  - Trabalho à noite. – “I work at night.”
de noite
- Also common; can feel a bit more descriptive, contrasting with de dia (“by day / in the daytime”):
  - Gosto mais da cidade de noite do que de dia. – “I like the city more at night than in the daytime.”

In your sentence, à noite is the most natural-sounding choice.
Ultimamente o Pedro anda a programar no computador de noite is understandable, but à noite is smoother here.

Why is the present tense anda used with Ultimamente? In English we’d say “has been programming”.

Portuguese often uses the simple present with time adverbs like ultimamente, where English prefers the present perfect (continuous):

Ultimamente o Pedro anda a programar…
~ “Lately Pedro has been programming…”

The idea of “lately / in recent times” comes from ultimamente and the andar a + infinitive construction, not from a special tense.

You can also use a form more parallel to English:

Ultimamente o Pedro tem andado a programar no computador à noite.

This is closer to “Pedro has been programming…”, with stronger emphasis on ongoingness over time.
But in everyday speech, anda a programar with ultimamente is very natural and enough to convey “has been programming lately”.

How would andar a programar change with different subjects?

You just conjugate andar in the present, and keep a programar the same:

Eu ando a programar – I have been programming / I go around programming
Tu andas a programar – You (singular, informal) have been programming
Ele / Ela anda a programar – He / She has been programming
Nós andamos a programar – We have been programming
Vocês andam a programar – You (plural) have been programming
Eles / Elas andam a programar – They have been programming

In your sentence:

o Pedro anda a programar → 3rd person singular (ele anda).

Is there a Brazilian Portuguese equivalent, or is andar a programar only European?

The construction andar a + infinitivo is characteristic of European Portuguese.

In Brazilian Portuguese, you would more typically hear:

Ultimamente o Pedro anda programando no computador à noite.
- andar + gerúndio instead of andar a + infinitivo
Or simply:
- Ultimamente o Pedro tem programado no computador à noite.
- Ultimamente o Pedro está programando no computador à noite.

In European Portuguese, andar programando (with gerúndio) is much less common; andar a programar is the natural choice in Portugal.