Eu gosto de ler antes de jantar.

I like to read before having dinner.

Breakdown of Eu gosto de ler antes de jantar.

• eu: I
• gostar de: to like
• ler: to read
• jantar: to have dinner
• antes: before
• de: in

Questions & Answers about Eu gosto de ler antes de jantar.

Why is it gosto de ler and not gosto ler?

In European Portuguese, the verb gostar almost always needs the preposition de before what you like.

• With a noun: Eu gosto de música. (I like music.)
• With a verb: Eu gosto de ler. (I like to read.)

Saying gosto ler (without de) is incorrect in standard Portuguese. Think of gostar de as a fixed combination: gostar de + something (noun or verb).

Can I leave out eu and just say Gosto de ler antes de jantar?

Yes. In Portuguese, the subject pronoun is often dropped because the verb ending shows who the subject is.

• Eu gosto de ler antes de jantar.
• Gosto de ler antes de jantar.

Both are correct and mean the same thing. Including eu can add a little emphasis on I (e.g. contrasting with someone else), but it’s not required.

Why is it ler and jantar (infinitives) and not something like estou a ler or a jantar?

Here ler and jantar are infinitives used in a general, timeless sense:

• gosto de ler = I like to read (in general, as an activity)
• antes de jantar = before having dinner / before eating dinner (as a usual routine)

If you said estou a ler antes de jantar, you’d be describing what you are doing right now, not what you like doing in general. The infinitive is the natural form after gostar de when talking about liking an activity.

Is jantar here a verb or a noun?

Here jantar is a verb in the infinitive, meaning to have dinner / to eat dinner.

• Verb: antes de jantar = before having dinner
• Noun: antes do jantar = before the dinner (a specific meal/event)

So in the original sentence, we are talking about the action of having dinner, not a particular dinner as an event.

What is the difference between antes de jantar and antes do jantar?

• antes de jantar: before having dinner – focuses on the action; used for habits/routines.
  
  • Eu gosto de ler antes de jantar.
• antes do jantar: before the dinner – focuses on a specific meal (as a time point or event).
  
  • Falamos antes do jantar. = We talk before the dinner (for example, a planned dinner event).

Both are correct but they do not mean exactly the same thing.

Why is there another de in antes de jantar?

In Portuguese, many time expressions take de before an infinitive:

• antes de
  • infinitive: antes de jantar (before having dinner)
• depois de
  • infinitive: depois de jantar (after having dinner)

So de here belongs to the expression antes de, not to jantar itself. The structure is antes de + verb (infinitive).

Could I say Eu gosto de ler antes do jantar instead?

Yes, you can. It would sound like:

• Eu gosto de ler antes do jantar. = I like to read before (the) dinner.

This is natural if you mean “before dinner time / before the dinner meal” as a daily reference.
Antes de jantar is slightly more abstract (before the act of having dinner), while antes do jantar points more to the meal as a time block, but in everyday conversation both can be used and often overlap in meaning.

Is the word order fixed, or could I say something like Eu gosto, antes de jantar, de ler?

The neutral, natural order is:

• Eu gosto de ler antes de jantar.

You could say Eu gosto, antes de jantar, de ler, but it sounds artificial or poetic and is not how people normally talk. In everyday speech, keep:

• [subject] + gosto de + [verb] + antes de + [verb]
  → Eu gosto de ler antes de jantar.

Does gosto here mean “I like” in general, or “I am liking (now)”?

Gosto (present tense) usually expresses:

• general preferences / habits:
  
  • Eu gosto de ler antes de jantar. = This is my usual preference.

Portuguese does not use a continuous form (I am liking) with gostar the way English theoretically could. To talk about a temporary, changing feeling, you’d still use gosto and make it clear with context, not grammar.

Is this sentence the same in European and Brazilian Portuguese?

Yes, Eu gosto de ler antes de jantar is correct and natural in both European and Brazilian Portuguese. The main difference would be pronunciation, not grammar or word choice. For European Portuguese specifically, the structure and words are exactly right.

Do I always use de after gostar, even with nouns?

Yes, in standard Portuguese you use de after gostar, whether what follows is a noun or a verb:

• With nouns:
  
  • Eu gosto de café.
  • Ela gosta de música clássica.
• With verbs (infinitive):
  
  • Eu gosto de ler.
  • Eles gostam de viajar.

Leaving out de (gosto café, gosto ler) is incorrect in standard language.

Could I replace ler with another verb in the same structure?

Yes. The pattern is:

• Eu gosto de + [verb in infinitive] + antes de + [verb in infinitive]

Examples:

• Eu gosto de correr antes de jantar. (I like to run before dinner.)
• Eu gosto de estudar antes de jantar. (I like to study before dinner.)
• Eu gosto de ver televisão antes de jantar. (I like to watch TV before dinner.)

The grammar stays the same; you just swap the verbs.