Precisamos de foco para estudar sem distração.

We need focus to study without distraction.

Breakdown of Precisamos de foco para estudar sem distração.

• precisar de: to need
• estudar: to study
• sem: without
• para: to
• a distração: the distraction
• o foco: the outbreak

Questions & Answers about Precisamos de foco para estudar sem distração.

Why does the sentence say precisamos de foco and not just precisamos foco?

In European Portuguese, when precisar means “to need” and is followed by a noun or pronoun, it almost always takes the preposition de:

• Precisamos de foco. – We need focus.
• Ela precisa de ajuda. – She needs help.
• Eles precisam de dinheiro. – They need money.

Using precisar without de before a noun (precisamos foco) is incorrect in standard Portuguese.

However, when precisar is followed by a verb in the infinitive, the de usually disappears:

• Precisamos estudar. – We need to study.
• Ela precisa descansar. – She needs to rest.

So:

• precisar de + noun → Precisamos de foco.
• precisar + infinitive → Precisamos estudar.

Why is there no nós in the sentence? Shouldn’t it be Nós precisamos de foco…?

Portuguese is a pro-drop language, meaning the subject pronoun is often omitted because the verb ending already shows the subject.

• Precisamos is the 1st person plural (we) form of precisar in the present tense.
• From the ending -amos, a native speaker immediately knows the subject is we.

Both are correct:

• Precisamos de foco para estudar sem distração. – Natural, everyday Portuguese.

• Nós precisamos de foco para estudar sem distração. – Also correct, but nós is used for emphasis or contrast:

  • Nós precisamos de foco, eles não. – We need focus, they don’t.

So the version without nós is actually more typical in normal speech and writing.

Could I say Precisamos foco para estudar instead? Is de really necessary?

No, Precisamos foco is not correct in standard European Portuguese.

When precisar means “to need” with a noun, de is required:

• ✅ Precisamos de foco.
• ❌ Precisamos foco.

If you want to avoid de, you must change the structure:

• Precisamos estar focados para estudar. – We need to be focused to study.
• Precisamos estudar com foco. – We need to study with focus.

But with the noun directly after precisar, you need de.

Why is it para estudar and not por estudar or de estudar?

In this sentence, para introduces the purpose of needing focus:

• Precisamos de foco para estudar…
  → We need focus in order to study…

Para + infinitive is the normal way to express purpose / goal:

• Vou para descansar. – I’m going (there) to rest.
• Ele trabalha para pagar as contas. – He works (in order) to pay the bills.

Por usually expresses reason, cause, duration, or exchange, not intention:

• Faltou à aula por doença. – He missed class because of illness.
• Andámos por duas horas. – We walked for two hours.

De + infinitive appears in different structures, for example:

• After certain adjectives: É fácil de fazer. – It’s easy to do.
• In fixed expressions: Acabei de estudar. – I’ve just studied.

So for “in order to study”, para estudar is the natural and correct choice.

Could it also be para estudarmos instead of para estudar?

Yes. In European Portuguese, you can use the personal infinitive:

• Precisamos de foco para estudar sem distração.
• Precisamos de foco para estudarmos sem distração.

Both are grammatically correct and both mean we are the ones studying.

Nuance:

• para estudar – more neutral and very common.
• para estudarmos – explicitly marks the subject (we) and can sound a bit more formal or emphatic in writing.

In speech, many people just say para estudar, especially when it’s clear from context that we are the ones studying.

Why is it sem distração and not sem distrações? Does the number (singular/plural) change the meaning?

Both are possible, with a slight nuance:

• sem distração (singular) – more like “without (any) distraction / in a state of no distraction”, treating distraction as a kind of general state.
• sem distrações (plural) – more like “without distractions”, highlighting individual distracting things (phone, noise, people, etc.).

In practice, both are very close in meaning and both sound natural:

• Precisamos de foco para estudar sem distração.
• Precisamos de foco para estudar sem distrações.

Many speakers naturally choose the plural in everyday speech: sem distrações. The singular can feel slightly more abstract or “conceptual.”

Why is it de foco and not do foco? When do I use the article o?

The choice between de foco and do foco ( = de + o foco) depends on whether you are talking about focus in general or some specific focus.

• Precisamos de foco…
  → We need focus (in general), as an abstract quality.

• Precisamos do foco que tínhamos antes.
  → We need the focus (that) we had before – a specific focus, which the context already defines.

General rule:

• de + noun (no article) → general, abstract, or unspecified:
  • Preciso de tempo. – I need time. (in general)
• de + article + noun → specific or previously mentioned:
  • Preciso do tempo que perdi. – I need the time I lost.

In your sentence, we’re talking about focus as a general requirement, so de foco is correct and natural.

Is foco here more like “focus” as a noun or “to focus” as a verb?

In this sentence, foco is a noun:

• Precisamos de foco… → We need focus (a quality / state).

The verb “to focus” in Portuguese would be:

• focar (verb) – Precisamos de nos focar. – We need to focus (ourselves).

Compare:

• Precisamos de foco. – We need focus. (noun)
• Precisamos de nos focar. – We need to focus. (verb + reflexive pronoun)

Both sentences are natural, but they have slightly different structures. Your original one uses foco as a noun.

Can I change the word order to Para estudar sem distração, precisamos de foco?

Yes, and that version is also very natural.

Portuguese is flexible with word order, especially when moving purpose or time clauses to the front for emphasis or flow:

• Precisamos de foco para estudar sem distração.
• Para estudar sem distração, precisamos de foco.

The meaning stays the same. Putting Para estudar sem distração at the beginning slightly emphasizes the condition/purpose first: In order to study without distraction, we need focus.

Is this sentence specifically European Portuguese, or would Brazilians say it differently?

The sentence is perfectly understandable and correct in both European and Brazilian Portuguese.

A Brazilian speaker might naturally produce something very similar, for example:

• Precisamos de foco para estudar sem distrações.

Minor tendencies:

• Brazilians often say sem distrações (plural), though sem distração is also possible.
• Verb forms and structures here are shared; there’s no major grammatical difference in this sentence between PT-PT and PT-BR.

So you can safely use this sentence in Portugal, and it will also sound fine in Brazil.