Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Por muito que goste de tecnologia, sei que preciso de limites claros. - As much as I like technology, I know I need clear limits.

Literally it’s something like “for as much as” or “however much”.
In natural English here it corresponds to “As much as I like technology / Much as I like technology / Even though I like technology”.

It sets up a contrast with the second part of the sentence:

Por muito que goste de tecnologia,
sei que preciso de limites claros.
→ Even though I like technology a lot, I know I need clear boundaries.

So:

por muito que + verb in the subjunctive = even though / no matter how much + verb.

Why is it goste and not gosto after por muito que?

Because por muito que normally requires the subjunctive.

gosto = present indicative (simple factual statement)
- Eu gosto de tecnologia. → I like technology.
goste = present subjunctive (used in certain structures that express doubt, possibility, condition, concession, etc.)
- Por muito que goste de tecnologia… → As much as I may like technology…

In European Portuguese, after expressions like:

por muito que
por mais que
ainda que
embora

you very often need the present subjunctive to express “even if / even though / no matter how much”.

So:

Por muito que goste de tecnologia = However much I might like technology
(subjunctive is triggered by the expression).

Why is it goste de tecnologia and not goste tecnologia?

Because the verb gostar in Portuguese is normally used with the preposition de:

gostar de + noun
- Gosto de tecnologia. → I like technology.
- Gosto de música. → I like music.
- Gosto de chocolate. → I like chocolate.

So the pattern is:

(eu) gosto de X / (que eu) goste de X

Leaving out de (goste tecnologia) is incorrect in standard Portuguese. The preposition de is a fixed part of the verb’s normal construction.

Why is it preciso de limites claros and not just preciso limites claros?

In European Portuguese, precisar also normally takes the preposition de when it means to need:

precisar de + noun
- Preciso de ajuda. → I need help.
- Preciso de dinheiro. → I need money.
- Preciso de limites claros. → I need clear boundaries.

So the structure is:

(eu) preciso de + [what is needed]

In Brazilian Portuguese, people often drop the de in speech (preciso dinheiro), but in European Portuguese and in more careful or formal language, precisar de is the standard and safest option.

So in this sentence, de is required:
sei que preciso de limites claros.

Could we say por mais que goste de tecnologia instead of por muito que goste de tecnologia? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can also say:

Por mais que goste de tecnologia, sei que preciso de limites claros.

In this context, por muito que and por mais que are very close in meaning:

both can be translated as “as much as / however much / even though”.
both take the subjunctive (goste).

Subtle differences:

por mais que is a bit more common and slightly more neutral/frequent.
por muito que can sound a touch more emphatic or literary, but it’s also perfectly normal.

In practice, you can treat them as near synonyms in sentences like this.

How does por muito que goste de tecnologia compare to embora goste de tecnologia or apesar de gostar de tecnologia?

All three express concession/contrast, but they differ in structure:

Por muito que goste de tecnologia…
- Uses por muito que + subjunctive.
- Emphasis on the degree: however much I like it.
Embora goste de tecnologia…
- Uses embora + subjunctive.
- Very close to English “although / even though I like technology”.
- No explicit focus on “how much”, just acknowledging the fact.
Apesar de gostar de tecnologia…
- Uses apesar de + infinitive (gostar).
- Also “although/even though I like technology”, but with the infinitive instead of a finite subjunctive verb.

All three could introduce the same second clause (sei que preciso de limites claros). The nuance:

por muito que → no matter how much…
embora → although / even though…
apesar de → despite / in spite of… (with infinitive).

Where is the subject “I” in this sentence? Why isn’t eu written?

Portuguese is a “pro‑drop” language: subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb ending already shows the subject.

In the sentence:

goste → “(that) I like” (1st person singular subjunctive)
sei → “I know” (1st person singular indicative)
preciso → “I need” (1st person singular indicative)

So we don’t need to say eu explicitly:

Por muito que (eu) goste de tecnologia, (eu) sei que (eu) preciso de limites claros.

You can include eu for emphasis (e.g. to contrast with someone else), but the default is to leave it out when it’s clear from the verb form.

Why is the adjective placed after the noun in limites claros instead of claros limites?

In Portuguese, the default position for most adjectives is after the noun:

limites claros → clear limits
casa grande → big house
ideia interessante → interesting idea

You can sometimes place adjectives before the noun, but that often brings:

a change of nuance (more subjective, emotional, or figurative), or
a different established meaning (e.g. grande homem ≠ homem grande).

With limites claros, the normal, neutral order is:

limites claros = clear, well-defined limits.

Claros limites is possible, but would sound a bit unusual or more poetic/emphatic. In everyday speech and writing, limites claros is what you expect.

Why is there a comma between Por muito que goste de tecnologia and sei que preciso de limites claros?

Because the sentence has two clauses:

A subordinate concessive clause:
- Por muito que goste de tecnologia
  (Even though I like technology…)
The main clause:
- sei que preciso de limites claros
  (I know I need clear boundaries.)

In Portuguese, you normally separate a subordinate clause that comes before the main clause with a comma. So:

Por muito que goste de tecnologia, sei que preciso de limites claros.

If the order were reversed, the comma might be optional:

Sei que preciso de limites claros, por muito que goste de tecnologia.
(Still correct, but less typical here.)

Is this specifically European Portuguese? Would Brazilian Portuguese say it differently?

The sentence is fully correct in both European and Brazilian Portuguese, but some tendencies differ:

precisar de:
- In European Portuguese, precisar de is strongly preferred:
  Preciso de limites claros.
- In Brazilian Portuguese, many speakers say both:
  - Preciso de limites claros. (more formal/standard)
  - Preciso limites claros. (common spoken variant)
The rest (por muito que goste de tecnologia, sei que…) works in both varieties.

A natural Brazilian-style version might tweak vocabulary rather than grammar, e.g.:

Por mais que eu goste de tecnologia, eu sei que preciso colocar limites.

But your original sentence is perfectly acceptable Brazilian Portuguese as well, especially in more careful speech or writing.

Could we change the tense of goste to something like gostasse? What difference would that make?

Yes, you can in principle use the imperfect subjunctive (gostasse) after por muito que, but it changes the nuance:

Por muito que goste de tecnologia…
- present subjunctive
- Refers to a present/general situation:
  However much I (may) like technology (now / in general)…
Por muito que gostasse de tecnologia…
- imperfect subjunctive
- Sounds more hypothetical or contrary to fact, like:
  - Even if I (were to) like technology a lot… (but possibly I don’t)
  - Often used in more conditional, “what if” kind of contexts.

In your sentence, you are stating a real, present preference, so goste (present subjunctive) is the natural choice.