Eu não quero perder tempo no telemóvel antes do exame.

Yes, Eu can be left out.

In Portuguese the verb ending already shows the subject, so:

• Eu não quero perder tempo…
• Não quero perder tempo…

both mean I don’t want to waste time…

Using Eu adds a bit of emphasis on I (as in: I don’t want to…). In everyday speech you’ll very often hear the version without Eu.

In simple sentences, não normally goes right before the conjugated verb:

• Eu não quero…
• Ele não gosta…
• Nós não vamos…

You don’t put não at the end of the sentence like English “I want not”, and you don’t split it from the verb. So:

• ✅ Eu não quero perder tempo…
• ❌ Eu quero não perder tempo… (grammatical but very unusual, and has a different emphasis)
• ❌ Eu quero perder tempo não… (wrong)

Portuguese often uses the simple present for intentions or plans about the near future, especially with a time expression:

• Eu não quero perder tempo… antes do exame.
• Amanhã tenho um exame. = Tomorrow I have an exam.

English tends to use will, going to, or present continuous for this, but Portuguese doesn’t need a special future form here. The time expression antes do exame is enough to show it’s about the future.

Because this is a verb + infinitive structure. Some verbs are followed directly by another verb in the infinitive, without a preposition, for example:

• Quero comer. = I want to eat.
• Posso sair? = Can I leave?
• Vou estudar. = I’m going to study.

So:

• quero perder = want to lose/waste
• não quero perder tempo = I don’t want to waste time

Only the first verb (quero) is conjugated; the second (perder) stays in the infinitive.

They all involve time, but the meanings are different:

• perder tempo = to waste time

  • Negative idea: time is lost, unproductive.
  • Eu não quero perder tempo no telemóvel.

• gastar tempo = to spend/use up time

  • More neutral, like spending money; can be negative or neutral depending on context.
  • Ele gastou muito tempo a preparar o exame.

• passar tempo = to spend time (somewhere / doing something)

  • Often neutral or positive.
  • Passei a tarde a estudar. = I spent the afternoon studying.

So perder tempo is the right choice here because the speaker feels it’s wasted time on the phone.

No telemóvel literally is in/on the mobile phone, but in usage it means on the phone (as a device), usually doing typical phone things (scrolling, apps, social media, etc.).

Portuguese often uses the definite article (o, a, etc.) more than English, so:

• no telemóvel can mean on my phone in context.
• If you really want to be explicit: no meu telemóvel = on my phone.

Context normally makes it clear whose phone it is, so no telemóvel is very natural.

No is a contraction of the preposition em and the masculine singular article o:

• em + o = no → no telemóvel
• em + a = na → na mesa
• em + os = nos → nos livros
• em + as = nas → nas aulas

In normal Portuguese, you don’t say em o telemóvel; you must contract it to no telemóvel.

Yes, in European Portuguese (Portugal) telemóvel is the standard word for mobile phone / cell phone.

• telemóvel = mobile phone (Portugal)
• celular = mobile/cell phone (Brazil)
• telefone = telephone in general (could be landline, could be mobile, depending on context, but often landline)

In everyday speech in Portugal, if you say telemóvel, people will think of a mobile; telefone often suggests a landline unless you clarify.

You can, but it means something different.

• no telemóvel = on the phone as a device (browsing, playing, using apps, etc.).
• ao telemóvel = on the phone talking to someone (on a call).

For example:

• Ela está ao telemóvel. = She is on the phone (speaking).
• Ele passa muito tempo no telemóvel. = He spends a lot of time on his phone (using it).

In your sentence, since it’s about wasting time before the exam (likely scrolling, apps, etc.), no telemóvel is the correct and natural choice.

The basic preposition is antes de (before):

• antes de jantar = before dinner (activity)
• antes de estudar = before studying

When de comes before a masculine singular noun with a definite article (o exame), it contracts:

• de + o exame = do exame

So:

• antes de o exame → antes do exame

Using the article (o) here makes the exam specific (the exam we know about). Without the article (antes de exame) is grammatically possible but sounds unnatural in this context; you almost always say antes do exame.

In standard modern Portuguese, you must use the contraction in normal writing and speech:

• ✅ antes do exame
• ❌ antes de o exame (looks odd/overly formal or archaic)

You would only see de o separated in very special stylistic or poetic contexts. In everyday Portuguese: always do, da, dos, das, etc.

Yes, that’s possible and correct:

• Antes do exame, eu não quero perder tempo no telemóvel.

This changes the emphasis slightly, putting before the exam at the front, but the meaning is the same. In speech, the original order (Eu não quero… antes do exame) is probably more common, but both are fine.

That sounds odd and incomplete.

Perder almost always needs a direct object (what are you losing/wasting?):

• perder tempo = lose/waste time
• perder dinheiro = lose money
• perder o jogo = lose the game

Without tempo, perder no telemóvel is unclear (lose what on the phone?). You need tempo here:

• ✅ Eu não quero perder tempo no telemóvel.

A very natural Brazilian version would be:

• Eu não quero perder tempo no celular antes da prova.

Main differences:

• telemóvel → celular (Brazil)
• exame → prova is more common in Brazil for a school/university test, though exame also exists.
• The grammar (não quero perder tempo no… antes do/da…) stays exactly the same.