Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Caminhamos pelo parque ao fim da tarde. - We walk through the park in the late afternoon.

In speech, the difference is only the stress:
- camiNHAmos (present) vs camiNHÁmos (past).
Online or in informal writing, people sometimes drop accents, which can create ambiguity. Then you need context to know if it is present or past.

Why is there no nós in the sentence? Can I say Nós caminhamos pelo parque ao fim da tarde?

Portuguese usually omits subject pronouns because the verb ending already indicates the person:

caminho = I walk (implicit eu)
caminhamos = we walk (implicit nós)

So:

Caminhamos pelo parque ao fim da tarde.
is the normal, neutral way to say it.

You can add nós:

Nós caminhamos pelo parque ao fim da tarde.

Adding nós usually gives emphasis or contrast, for example:

Nós caminhamos pelo parque ao fim da tarde, eles correm de manhã.
(We walk …, they run …)

But for a simple statement, leaving nós out is more natural.

What exactly does pelo mean, and why is it used before parque?

Pelo is a contraction:

por + o = pelo

So literally it is by/through + the (masculine singular).

Pelo parque can mean:

through the park
around the park
along the park

It suggests movement inside or across the park, not just being located there.

If the noun were feminine or plural, the forms change:

por + a = pela → pela cidade (through the city)
por + os = pelos → pelos jardins (through the gardens)
por + as = pelas → pelas ruas (through the streets)

What is the difference between pelo parque and no parque?

Both are possible, but they suggest slightly different things:

pelo parque (por + o)
– Focus on movement: walking through / around / across the park.
– Suggests you cover some distance inside the park.
no parque (em + o)
– Focus on location: walking in / at the park.
– You are in the park; moving around is implied, but less emphasized.

So:

Caminhamos pelo parque ao fim da tarde.
Highlights the route or movement through the park.
Caminhamos no parque ao fim da tarde.
Sounds more like: we walk (for exercise, etc.) in the park.

What does ao fim da tarde literally mean, and how does it differ from just à tarde or de tarde?

Literally:

ao = a + o (to the / at the, masculine singular)
fim = end
da = de + a (of the, feminine singular)
tarde = afternoon

So ao fim da tarde is literally at the end of the afternoon, i.e. in the late afternoon / towards evening.

Compared with other expressions:

à tarde
– in the afternoon (generic time of day)
– Example: Costumamos caminhar à tarde. (We usually walk in the afternoon.)
de tarde
– also in the afternoon; often a bit more informal / general.
ao fim da tarde
– specifically: near the end of the afternoon, late afternoon / early evening.

So ao fim da tarde is more specific in terms of time.

Why is it da tarde and not do tarde?

Because tarde (afternoon) is a feminine noun in Portuguese:

a tarde = the afternoon

The contraction is:

de + a = da → da tarde (of the afternoon)

Do would be:

de + o = do, used for masculine nouns, e.g.
do dia (of the day), do mês (of the month).

Could the sentence also be Ao fim da tarde caminhamos pelo parque? Is that still correct?

Yes, completely correct.

Portuguese allows fairly flexible word order, especially with time expressions. All of these are fine, with small differences in emphasis:

Caminhamos pelo parque ao fim da tarde.
Ao fim da tarde caminhamos pelo parque.

Putting Ao fim da tarde at the start emphasizes the time more strongly:

Ao fim da tarde, caminhamos pelo parque.
(As for late afternoon, that’s when we walk through the park.)

But grammatically, both are correct and natural.

Are caminhar and andar the same, or is there a difference between them in European Portuguese?

They overlap, but there are differences and preferences:

caminhar
– Explicitly means to walk (as an activity).
– Common in contexts like exercise, hiking, strolling:
- Gostamos de caminhar pelo parque. (We like walking through the park.) – Often a bit more neutral/formal than andar.
andar
– Very common, broader meaning: to walk, to go around, to move, even to function (a machine), or to go somewhere regularly. – When used as to walk, it can sound slightly more casual:
- Andamos pelo parque. (We walk around the park.)

In your sentence, Caminhamos pelo parque ao fim da tarde sounds perfectly natural in Portugal.
You could say Andamos pelo parque ao fim da tarde, but it might be understood more as we go around / hang around the park depending on context.

If I want to say this clearly in the past in European Portuguese writing, should I prefer caminhámos?

Yes.

For clear, standard European Portuguese in writing:

Present: Caminhamos pelo parque ao fim da tarde.
Past (completed event): Caminhámos pelo parque ao fim da tarde.

The accent in caminhámos:

Marks the correct stress.
Distinguishes it from the present form in writing.

In Brazilian Portuguese, the standard spelling for both present and past 1st person plural is caminhamos (without the accent), so you only know from context. In European Portuguese, the accent in the past is still the norm in careful writing.

What is the difference between caminhámos and caminhávamos in the past?

Both are past tenses, but they express different aspects:

caminhámos (pretérito perfeito)
– Completed action, seen as a whole, one event:
- Caminhámos pelo parque ao fim da tarde.
  (We walked through the park in the late afternoon – one finished walk.)
caminhávamos (pretérito imperfeito)
– Ongoing / repeated / habitual action in the past, or background:
- Caminhávamos pelo parque ao fim da tarde.
  (We used to walk / we were walking through the park in the late afternoon.)

So, if the sentence is about a single, completed walk: caminhámos.
If it’s describing a past habit or background: caminhávamos.

How would this sentence change if parque were feminine or plural?

The verb and word order stay the same; only the article/contraction before parque changes.

Currently:

o parque (masculine singular) → pelo parque (por + o)

If it were feminine singular, e.g. a praia (the beach):

por + a → pela
- Caminhamos pela praia ao fim da tarde.

If it were masculine plural, e.g. os parques (the parks):

por + os → pelos
- Caminhamos pelos parques ao fim da tarde.

If it were feminine plural, e.g. as ruas (the streets):

por + as → pelas
- Caminhamos pelas ruas ao fim da tarde.

Is the sentence neutral in style, or does it sound formal / informal in European Portuguese?

It is neutral and very natural in European Portuguese.

Caminhamos – standard verb form.
pelo parque – everyday, normal phrasing.
ao fim da tarde – common, slightly more specific time expression.

You could say this in conversation, in writing, and in semi-formal contexts without any problem. It does not sound slangy, nor particularly formal.

Is the pronunciation of caminhamos the same in European and Brazilian Portuguese?

Not exactly; there are some differences:

In both varieties, syllable division is ca-mi-nha-mos and nh is like the ny in canyon.

Key differences:

European Portuguese:
- Final -mos often pronounced with a weaker, more closed vowel or even reduced: something like -mush or -məs, depending on accent.
- Overall, vowels tend to be shorter and more reduced, especially in unstressed syllables: ca-MI-nha-məs.
Brazilian Portuguese:
- Vowels are usually clearer and more open.
- -mos tends to be pronounced more clearly as -mos.
- You’ll hear something closer to ca-mi-NHA-mos, with a clearer o in -mos.

Both use the same spelling; the main difference is vowel quality and clarity.