Por muito que eu estude português, ainda fico cansado depois do exame.

No matter how much I study Portuguese, I still feel tired after the exam.

Breakdown of Por muito que eu estude português, ainda fico cansado depois do exame.

• eu: I
• cansado: tired
• estudar: to study
• depois de: after
• ainda: still
• o exame: the exam
• ficar: to become
• o português: the Portuguese
• por muito que: as much as

Questions & Answers about Por muito que eu estude português, ainda fico cansado depois do exame.

What exactly does por muito que mean here?

Por muito que is a concessive expression. It roughly means:

• no matter how much
• however much

So the sentence is like saying:
No matter how much I study Portuguese, I still get tired after the exam.

It introduces something that is true or possible (I study a lot of Portuguese) but is contrasted with the main clause (I still get tired).

Why is it eu estude and not eu estudo?

Because estude is in the present subjunctive, and this construction requires the subjunctive.

In Portuguese, after por muito que (and also por mais que), you normally use the subjunctive to express something hypothetical, repeated, or not presented as a concrete fact, but as a general condition.

• Indicative: eu estudo = I study (simple statement of fact)
• Subjunctive: eu estude = (that) I study / (no matter how much) I study

So:

• Por muito que eu estudo português ❌ (incorrect in standard grammar)
• Por muito que eu estude português ✅ (correct)

Can I say por mais que instead of por muito que? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can. Both are correct:

• Por muito que eu estude português…
• Por mais que eu estude português…

In everyday European Portuguese, por mais que is slightly more common and often feels a bit more neutral. The meaning is the same: no matter how much / however much.

There’s no real change in tense, formality or politeness; it’s more a matter of style and personal preference.

Can I drop the subject eu and just say Por muito que estude português…?

Yes. Portuguese is a pro‑drop language: the subject pronoun is often omitted because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is.

So both are correct:

• Por muito que eu estude português, ainda fico cansado…
• Por muito que estude português, ainda fico cansado…

Including eu can add a bit of emphasis: I, despite my effort…
Leaving it out sounds slightly more neutral and is very natural in European Portuguese.

Can I switch the order of the clauses, starting with Ainda fico cansado…?

Yes. You can place the concessive clause before or after the main clause:

• Por muito que (eu) estude português, ainda fico cansado depois do exame.
• Ainda fico cansado depois do exame, por muito que (eu) estude português.

Both are correct. Putting por muito que… first highlights the contrast right away; putting it second sounds a bit more like an afterthought or explanation.

Why is it fico cansado and not estou cansado?

Because ficar here means to become / to end up / to get (tired). It focuses on the change of state that happens after the exam.

• fico cansado ≈ I get tired / I end up tired (as a result of the exam)
• estou cansado = I am tired (describes the state, without focusing on how you got there)

You could say ainda estou cansado depois do exame, but that would mean:

• I’m still tired after the exam (maybe I was tired before too).

With fico cansado, the idea is: The exam makes me tired, even though I study a lot.

How does cansado change with gender and number?

Cansado is an adjective and must agree with the subject.

• Male speaker, singular: (eu) fico cansado
• Female speaker, singular: (eu) fico cansada
• Group with at least one man: (nós) ficamos cansados
• All‑female group: (nós) ficamos cansadas

So a woman would say:

• Por muito que eu estude português, ainda fico cansada depois do exame.

What does ainda add here? Could I just say fico cansado?

Ainda here gives the idea of:

• still
• even so / nevertheless

It emphasizes the contrast:

Even though I study a lot, I still get tired.

If you remove ainda, the sentence is grammatically fine but loses some of that contrastive flavour:

• Por muito que eu estude português, fico cansado depois do exame.

This simply states a result, without highlighting the surprise or frustration that it happens even so.

Why is it depois do exame and not depois de exame or depois de o exame?

Three points:

1. Contraction
   Portuguese normally contracts de + o → do.
   So:

   • depois do exame = depois de o exame

   The uncontracted form depois de o exame is only used in very formal, careful writing or for special emphasis. In speech, you practically always use do.

2. Definite article
   Exame here is a specific exam (for example, the Portuguese exam you just took), so you use the definite article o:

   • o exame = the exam

   Depois de exame (no article) sounds unnatural here in European Portuguese.

3. Fixed pattern
   The normal structure is:

   • depois de + definite noun
     → depois do exame, depois da aula, depois do trabalho, etc.

Why does português have an accent, and how should I pronounce it?

The accent in português serves two main purposes:

1. Stress position
   It tells you the stressed syllable is the last one:
   por-tu-guês

   Without the accent, the default stress would be on tu: POR-tu-gues, which is wrong.

2. Vowel quality
   The ê indicates a closed “e” sound, similar to the vowel in English “say” but shorter and without the glide:
   /puɾtuˈɡeʃ/ in European Portuguese.

So it’s pronounced roughly like: portu-GAESH (very approximate).

Why is there no article before português in estude português? Could I say estude o português?

Both are possible, but there’s a nuance:

• estudar português
• estudar o português

In European Portuguese:

• Without article (estudar português) often feels a bit more general: studying the Portuguese language.
• With article (estudar o português) can sound slightly more like a school subject or something more specific/formal, though in many contexts the difference is minimal.

Both are grammatically correct in this sentence:

• Por muito que eu estude português, ainda fico cansado…
• Por muito que eu estude o português, ainda fico cansado…

Most learners will be perfectly fine using estudar português here.