Breakdown of Eu uso a aplicação para estudar português.
Questions & Answers about Eu uso a aplicação para estudar português.
You don’t have to say Eu. In Portuguese the verb ending already shows who the subject is.
- Eu uso = I use
- Tu usas = you (singular, informal) use
- Ele / Ela usa = he / she uses
Because uso clearly indicates 1st person singular, you can normally drop Eu unless you want to:
- add emphasis: Eu uso a aplicação, não ele. – I use the app, not him.
- contrast with someone else: Eu uso, mas eles não usam. – I use it, but they don’t.
So both are correct:
- Eu uso a aplicação para estudar português.
- Uso a aplicação para estudar português. (more typical in everyday speech)
Usar is a regular -ar verb, so it follows the standard pattern in the present tense:
- eu uso – I use
- tu usas – you use (singular, informal)
- ele / ela / você usa – he / she / you (formal) use
- nós usamos – we use
- vocês / eles / elas usam – you (plural) / they use
In your sentence, the subject is eu, so the correct form is uso.
There is no spelling change or irregularity here; it’s a straightforward regular verb.
Both are possible, but the meaning changes slightly:
Eu uso a aplicação…
→ the application, a specific one that both speaker and listener can identify (for example, Duolingo, Memrise, etc.).Eu uso uma aplicação…
→ an application, one of many; the listener doesn’t necessarily know which one.
So:
- Talking about a specific, known app → a aplicação
- Introducing an app for the first time, or it doesn’t matter which → uma aplicação
You’re looking at a difference between European and Brazilian Portuguese:
Portugal (European Portuguese):
- a aplicação is the standard term for a software application / app.
- People may also say a app in informal speech, borrowing the English word.
Brazil (Brazilian Portuguese):
- o aplicativo is the very common word for “app”.
So in Portugal, Eu uso a aplicação… sounds natural and correct.
After para when you express purpose (“in order to…”), you normally use the infinitive form of the verb:
- para estudar – in order to study
- para praticar – in order to practise
- para aprender – in order to learn
Using the noun estudo here (para estudo) would sound technical and unnatural in everyday speech; it would mean something like “for study purposes” in a formal, abstract way.
For a normal sentence about what you are doing, para + infinitive is the pattern:
- uso X para estudar Y – I use X to study Y
In this context, para expresses purpose / goal:
- uso a aplicação para estudar português
→ I use the app in order to study Portuguese.
Por usually expresses cause, exchange, movement through something, etc. It would not be used to introduce the purpose of using the app here. Compare:
- Vim para estudar. – I came in order to study. (purpose)
- Vim por causa do exame. – I came because of the exam. (reason / cause)
So for “to do X” meaning “in order to do X”, you want para + infinitive.
It can mean either, depending on context. Portuguese uses the simple present more broadly than English.
Habit / general fact:
- Eu uso a aplicação todos os dias.
→ I use the app every day.
- Eu uso a aplicação todos os dias.
Right now (if context makes it clear):
- Não posso falar, eu uso a aplicação agora.
→ I can’t talk, I’m using the app now.
- Não posso falar, eu uso a aplicação agora.
If you want to be very clear that it’s happening right now, in European Portuguese you normally use:
- Eu estou a usar a aplicação. – I am using the app (right now).
So:
- Your sentence naturally suggests a habit unless the context shows it’s about right now.
Yes, and that is very typical European Portuguese:
- Eu estou a usar a aplicação para estudar português.
→ I am using the app to study Portuguese (right now / at the moment).
In European Portuguese, the progressive form is usually:
- estar a + infinitive
- estou a estudar – I am studying
- estamos a aprender – we are learning
In Brazilian Portuguese, it’s usually:
- estar + gerúndio (-ndo)
- estou estudando – I am studying
So your original Eu uso a aplicação… is fine, and Eu estou a usar a aplicação… is also correct, with more focus on an ongoing action.
In Portuguese:
Languages are written with lowercase:
- português, inglês, francês, alemão
Nationalities are also lowercase:
- sou português / sou inglesa – I am Portuguese / English.
We only capitalize them when they start a sentence. So:
- Eu estudo português. – I study Portuguese.
- O Português tem muitas variedades. – Portuguese has many varieties. (capitalized here only because it’s the first word in the sentence)
Both forms exist, but there’s a nuance:
estudar português
- Most common, neutral way to say “study Portuguese (the language)”.
- The language name appears without an article after verbs like falar, estudar, aprender in many everyday contexts.
estudar o português
- Emphasizes Portuguese as a specific subject / language system.
- Can sound a bit more formal or specific, like “study the Portuguese language”.
In practice, when you’re talking about learning the language, estudar português is what you’ll hear most often.
There isn’t a perfect rule, but there are strong patterns. One useful pattern:
- Nouns ending in -ção are almost always feminine:
- a aplicação – the application
- a estação – the station / season
- a informação – the information
- a educação – the education
Because aplicação ends in -ção, you use feminine articles and adjectives:
- a aplicação (not o aplicação)
- uma aplicação útil – a useful application (feminine adjective útil used for both genders, but agreement appears in the article).
Learning common endings like -ção, -dade, -agem (often feminine) and -o, -e (many masculine, but with exceptions) will gradually help you guess gender more reliably.