Eu tento publicar conteúdo útil, em vez de partilhar só fotografias.

I try to post useful content instead of sharing only photos.

Breakdown of Eu tento publicar conteúdo útil, em vez de partilhar só fotografias.

• eu: I
• tentar: to try
• a fotografia: the photograph
• partilhar: to share
• em vez de: instead of
• útil: useful
• o conteúdo: the content
• só: only
• publicar: to post

Questions & Answers about Eu tento publicar conteúdo útil, em vez de partilhar só fotografias.

Why is it "tento publicar" and not "tento de publicar" or something with a preposition?

In Portuguese, tentar is followed directly by the infinitive, with no preposition:

• Eu tento publicar conteúdo útil. = I try to publish useful content.
• Ela tentou ligar‑te. = She tried to call you.
• Vamos tentar resolver o problema. = We’re going to try to solve the problem.

Using de (tentar de) is considered incorrect in standard Portuguese.

Some other verbs do take a preposition before an infinitive, e.g.:

• começar a trabalhar = to start working
• aprender a falar = to learn to speak

But tentar is not one of them: it’s simply tentar + infinitive.

What tense and person is "tento", and what nuance does it give?

"Tento" is:

• 1st person singular (I)
• Present indicative of tentar (to try)

So Eu tento publicar… literally means “I try to publish…” and usually describes:

• a habit or general tendency (what you usually try to do), or
• something you are currently making an effort to do in general, not just at this exact moment.

If you wanted to emphasise repeated attempts over time, you might use a different form:

• Tenho tentado publicar conteúdo útil.
  = I have been trying to publish useful content.

Could I say "Eu estou a tentar publicar conteúdo útil" instead of "Eu tento publicar..."? What’s the difference?

Yes, in European Portuguese:

• Eu tento publicar conteúdo útil…
  = I try (in general / as a rule) to publish useful content…
• Eu estou a tentar publicar conteúdo útil…
  = I am trying (right now / in this period) to publish useful content…

So:

• "tento" → more about a regular behaviour / attitude / policy
• "estou a tentar" → more about a current, ongoing attempt

Both are correct, but they don’t feel identical in meaning.

Why is there a comma before "em vez de partilhar..."? Is it necessary?

The comma is very natural here and usually recommended, because:

• "em vez de partilhar só fotografias" is a contrastive phrase that explains what you do instead.
• In Portuguese, we typically separate this kind of contrast / alternative with a comma.

You could technically drop the comma in an informal text:

• Eu tento publicar conteúdo útil em vez de partilhar só fotografias.

…but most careful writing will include the comma to make the contrast clearer:

• Eu tento publicar conteúdo útil, em vez de partilhar só fotografias.

What does "em vez de" literally mean, and how is it different from "ao invés de"?

"Em vez de" literally means “in place of / in place of doing” and is the standard phrase for “instead of”:

• Em vez de sair, fiquei em casa. = Instead of going out, I stayed at home.
• Em vez de partilhar só fotografias, publico conteúdo útil.

"Ao invés de" literally suggests “as the opposite of” and, in more traditional grammar, should be used for opposites, not just alternatives:

• Chorou, ao invés de rir. (He cried, instead of laughing / he did the opposite of laughing.)

In everyday speech, many native speakers mix them up, but:

• Safest choice in European Portuguese for “instead of” is always em vez de.

What is the difference between "publicar" and "partilhar" here?

Both are common with social media, but they have slightly different focuses:

• publicar = to publish / to post
  – Emphasises putting something out there, making it public or posting it.

• partilhar = to share
  – Emphasises sharing with other people, giving others access to what you have.

In this sentence:

• publicar conteúdo útil → you create/post useful content yourself.
• partilhar só fotografias → you share (possibly your own or others’) photos.

So the contrast is between posting useful content vs just sharing photos.

Why is there no article before "conteúdo útil"? Could I say "um conteúdo útil"?

Portuguese often omits the article with uncountable / abstract nouns used in a general sense:

• publicar conteúdo útil = to publish useful content (in general)
• vender fruta = to sell fruit
• beber água = to drink water

Here conteúdo behaves like “content” in English: it’s a mass noun.

If you say "um conteúdo útil", you’re treating it as one specific item / type of content:

• um conteúdo útil = one useful piece/type of content (more specific)

So:

• Eu tento publicar conteúdo útil → I try (in general) to post useful content.
• Eu tento publicar um conteúdo útil → I try to post a particular useful piece of content (much less likely in this context).

Why is "útil" after "conteúdo" and not before it, like in English?

In Portuguese, adjectives usually come after the noun:

• conteúdo útil = useful content
• livro interessante = interesting book
• pessoa simpática = nice person

So conteúdo útil is the normal order.

You can occasionally place some adjectives before the noun (for emphasis, style, or with adjectives that often go before), but "útil conteúdo" sounds strange or very marked. For everyday speech and writing, put “útil” after “conteúdo”.

Why is "só" used for "only"? Could I use "apenas" or "somente" instead?

Yes, you can use all three, but they differ in tone:

• só = only / just
  – Very common and colloquial, short and frequent.
  – Partilhar só fotografias = to share only photos.

• apenas = only / merely
  – More neutral or slightly formal.
  – Partilhar apenas fotografias.

• somente = only
  – Can sound a bit formal or emphatic in European Portuguese.
  – Partilhar somente fotografias.

In everyday speech in Portugal:

• só is by far the most common choice in this kind of sentence.
• apenas is also common in writing or more neutral/formal speech.
• somente is used, but less frequently.

Where can I put "só" in this sentence? Can I say "partilhar fotografias só"?

Position changes the focus. Some natural options:

1. partilhar só fotografias

   • Most natural here.
   • Focuses on the noun “photographs”: only photographs (and nothing else).

2. só partilhar fotografias

   • Focuses more on the verb phrase: only share photos (and not do anything else).
   • Possible, but in this specific sentence “partilhar só fotografias” is more idiomatic.

3. partilhar fotografias só

   • Grammatically possible, but in European Portuguese this order often sounds more like:
     “to share photographs alone / by themselves”
     or is at least much less natural. It’s not the preferred way to say “only photos”.

So if you want the clear meaning “only photos” in this context, use:

• …em vez de partilhar só fotografias.

Does "só" ever mean "alone" instead of "only"? How do I know the difference?

Yes. "só" can mean either “only” or “alone”, and the meaning depends on:

1. Context
2. Position in the sentence
3. What it’s modifying

Examples:

• Estou só.
  → I am alone. (No other word to modify; describes you.)

• Só estou cansado.
  → I’m just tired / I’m only tired. (Here só modifies the verb phrase “estou cansado”.)

• Tenho só uma pergunta.
  → I have only one question. (só modifies “uma pergunta”.)

• Vivo só.
  → I live alone.

In "partilhar só fotografias", só is placed right before a plural noun and the context is about types of content, so it’s clearly “only”, not “alone”.

Why is it "fotografias" and not "fotos"? Are both correct?

Both are correct:

• fotografias = photographs (more formal or neutral, full word)
• fotos = photos (shortened, more informal/colloquial)

The sentence could also be:

• …em vez de partilhar só fotos.

Meaning is the same. The choice is mostly about register and style.
In everyday speech, fotos is very common; in slightly more careful or written language, fotografias is perfectly normal.

Could I drop "Eu" and just say "Tento publicar conteúdo útil..."?

Yes. In Portuguese, the subject pronoun is often omitted, because the verb ending already tells you the person:

• Tento publicar conteúdo útil, em vez de partilhar só fotografias.

This is perfectly natural and probably even more common than including Eu.

Adding Eu puts a little bit of emphasis on the subject:

• Eu tento publicar… → I try to publish… (as opposed to other people, or highlighting your own effort)

So both forms are correct; the version without “Eu” is often the default in neutral context.

Is there any difference in how a Brazilian speaker would say this sentence?

The general structure is fine in Brazil too, but there are some typical differences:

1. Verb forms are the same here:

   • Eu tento publicar conteúdo útil… works in both varieties.

2. Verb “partilhar” vs “compartilhar”:

   • In Portugal, partilhar is the everyday verb for “to share” (especially on social media).
   • In Brazil, people more often say compartilhar.
   • A Brazilian is more likely to say:
     Eu tento publicar conteúdo útil, em vez de compartilhar só fotos.

3. Progressive form (if you changed the sentence):

   • Portugal: Estou a tentar publicar…
   • Brazil: Estou tentando publicar…

Your original sentence is clearly European Portuguese because of the verb partilhar and the overall feel.

How do you pronounce "Eu tento publicar conteúdo útil" in European Portuguese? Any tricky sounds for English speakers?

A careful European Portuguese pronunciation (Lisbon area) would be roughly:

• Eu tento publicar conteúdo útil
  → [ew ˈtẽtu publɨˈkaɾ kõtɨˈudu ˈutil]

A few tricky points:

• Eu → [ew] (like “ehw”), a diphthong, not the English “you”.
• tento → tẽ is nasal; don’t pronounce a separate “n” sound, just nasalise the vowel.
• publicar → the unstressed u is like English “oo” but shorter; r at the end can be a soft [ɾ] (tap) or a slightly stronger sound depending on accent.
• conteúdo → unstressed e is a very short, central sound [ɨ]; stressed ú is [u].
• útil → stress on ú; the final l is a dark, velarised l (similar to the “l” in English full).

You don’t need perfect IPA; listening to native audio and imitating the rhythm and nasal vowels will help the most.