Eu gosto de fazer parte do grupo de estudo de português.

I like being part of the Portuguese study group.

Breakdown of Eu gosto de fazer parte do grupo de estudo de português.

• eu: I
• gostar de: to like
• de: of
• o grupo: the group
• o estudo: the study
• o português: the Portuguese
• fazer parte de: to be part of

Questions & Answers about Eu gosto de fazer parte do grupo de estudo de português.

Can I drop Eu and just say Gosto de fazer parte do grupo de estudo de português?

Yes. In Portuguese you usually omit the subject pronoun because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• Eu gosto = I like
• Gosto (with no eu) still clearly means I like from the ending -o.

You keep Eu:

• for emphasis (Eu gosto, mas ele não gosta.)
• for contrast or clarity in a longer context.

So both are correct:

• Eu gosto de fazer parte do grupo de estudo de português.
• Gosto de fazer parte do grupo de estudo de português.

Why do we say gosto de instead of just gosto?

In Portuguese, the verb gostar almost always comes with the preposition de to introduce what you like.

Pattern:

• gostar de + noun
  
  • Gosto de chocolate. – I like chocolate.
• gostar de + infinitive (verb)
  
  • Gosto de ler. – I like reading.

So in your sentence:

• gosto de fazer parte... = I like to be / being part...

Without de (gosto fazer parte…) is wrong in standard Portuguese.

Why is it de fazer and not de faço after gosto de?

After a preposition like de, Portuguese always uses the infinitive form of the verb, not a conjugated form.

• Correct: de fazer (to do / to make)
• Incorrect: de faço

Examples:

• Gosto de ler. – I like reading.
• Tenho vontade de viajar. – I feel like travelling.
• Estou a aprender a falar português. – I am learning to speak Portuguese.

So gosto de fazer parte literally is I like “to do/be part”, with fazer in the infinitive.

Why do we use fazer parte de instead of ser parte de?

Fazer parte de is the standard idiomatic expression meaning to be part of / to belong to.

• Fazer parte de um grupo – to be a member of a group
• Fazer parte de uma equipa – to be on a team

You can sometimes see ser parte de, but it sounds more literal or technical (e.g. talking about components of a system) and is much less common in everyday speech.

In your sentence:

• gosto de fazer parte do grupo = I like being a member of the group
  This sounds completely natural; ser parte here would sound odd to most speakers.

What does do in do grupo mean, and why not de o grupo?

Do is just a contraction of the preposition de + the definite article o (the).

• de + o = do → of the (masculine singular)
• de + a = da → of the (feminine singular)
• de + os = dos → of the (masculine plural)
• de + as = das → of the (feminine plural)

So:

• do grupo = de + o grupo = of the group

In speech and writing, you must use the contraction (do, not de o).

Why is it do grupo de estudo, not just de grupo de estudo?

Because you’re talking about a specific, known group, so Portuguese uses the definite article:

• do grupo de estudo → of the study group (a particular group we both know about)

If you say:

• de um grupo de estudo → of a study group (some group, not specified which)

So:

• Gosto de fazer parte do grupo de estudo de português.
  = I like being part of the Portuguese study group (that we both know).
• Gosto de fazer parte de um grupo de estudo de português.
  = I like being part of a Portuguese study group (any such group).

Why is it grupo de estudo and not grupo de estudos?

Both forms exist:

• grupo de estudo (singular “estudo”)
• grupo de estudos (plural “estudos”)

In practice:

• grupo de estudo is a very common, fixed-sounding expression and is perfectly natural for “study group”.
• grupo de estudos is also used and can sound a bit more formal/academic or suggest “various studies” in some contexts.

In your sentence, grupo de estudo is completely standard; grupo de estudos would also be understood and acceptable.

Why are there two de’s: grupo de estudo de português? Could it be just grupo de estudo português?

Portuguese usually uses de to link nouns, where English often just puts them together:

• grupo de estudo – study group
• grupo de estudo de português – Portuguese study group / study group for Portuguese

The second de (de português) tells us what the study group is about.

You cannot normally drop that second de:

• ✔ grupo de estudo de português
• ✖ grupo de estudo português (sounds wrong; Portuguese doesn’t stack nouns like English here)

So the structure is:

• grupo (group)
  • de estudo (of study)
    • de português (of Portuguese)

Why is português not capitalized like “Portuguese” in English?

In Portuguese, the names of languages and adjectives of nationality are not capitalized:

• português, inglês, espanhol, francês

You only capitalize when it’s a proper noun, for example:

• Portugal
• Português as “a Portuguese person” (the noun for a national) can be capitalized, especially at the start of a sentence:
  • Os Portugueses são… – The Portuguese (people) are…

But as a language or an adjective after a noun:

• grupo de estudo de português – lower-case p.

What’s the difference between gosto de fazer parte do grupo de estudo de português and gosto do grupo de estudo de português?

They’re close, but not the same:

1. Gosto de fazer parte do grupo de estudo de português.

   • Focus: you enjoy being a member of the group.
   • Implicit meaning: you like participating, belonging, taking part.

2. Gosto do grupo de estudo de português.

   • Literal: I like the Portuguese study group.
   • Focus: you like the group itself (maybe its people, atmosphere, organisation), without explicitly talking about being part of it.

Often both are true, but the first one highlights the experience of belonging, not just appreciation of the group.

How would this sentence change for other persons (you, he, we, etc.)?

The verb gostar is regular. In the present tense:

• Eu gosto de fazer parte do grupo de estudo de português. – I like …
• Tu gostas de fazer parte… – You like … (informal singular, mainly Portugal)
• Você gosta de fazer parte… – You like … (more formal in Portugal; common in Brazil)
• Ele / Ela gosta de fazer parte… – He / She likes …
• Nós gostamos de fazer parte… – We like …
• Vocês gostam de fazer parte… – You (plural) like …
• Eles / Elas gostam de fazer parte… – They like …

In everyday European Portuguese, the subject pronoun is often dropped:

• Gostamos de fazer parte do grupo… – We like being part of the group…

Is this sentence the same in Brazilian Portuguese?

Yes, the sentence is perfectly natural and correct in both European and Brazilian Portuguese:

• Eu gosto de fazer parte do grupo de estudo de português.

Possible minor differences:

• In Brazil, grupo de estudos (plural) may be heard quite often, but grupo de estudo is also fine.
• Pronunciation and intonation differ, but the words and grammar are the same.

How is gosto de fazer parte do grupo de estudo de português typically pronounced in European Portuguese?

In European Portuguese, there’s a lot of reduction and linking. A careful but natural pronunciation (roughly) is:

• Eu gosto de fazer parte do grupo de estudo de português.
  /ew ˈɡɔʃ.tu d fɐ.ˈzeɾ ˈpaɾ.tɨ du ˈɡɾu.pu d(ɨ) ɨʃ.ˈtu.du d puɾ.tu.ˈɡeʃ/

Some features:

• gosto → gósh-tu (the s sounds like “sh” before t).
• de often weakens to just a /d/ sound before a consonant:
  de fazer ≈ d’fazer, de estudo ≈ d’estudo.
• Final -e in parte is very reduced: par-t(ɨ).
• português ends with a “sh” sound: portuguêsh.

Spoken quickly, it can sound like one long chain:
Eu gósh-tu d’fazêr párt(ɨ) du grupo d’studo d’portuguêsh.