No verão, gosto de estudar português ao ar livre.

In summer, I like to study Portuguese outdoors.

Breakdown of No verão, gosto de estudar português ao ar livre.

• gostar de: to like
• estudar: to study
• em: in
• o verão: the summer
• o português: the Portuguese
• ao ar livre: outdoors

Questions & Answers about No verão, gosto de estudar português ao ar livre.

Why is it “No verão” and not “Em verão” or “no verão” without meaning “in the summer”?

No is a contraction of the preposition em (in) + the masculine singular article o (the):

• em + o = no → no verão = in the summer

In Portuguese, when you talk about seasons in a general way, you still usually use the definite article:

• No verão = in (the) summer (meaning “during summertime, generally”)
• No inverno = in (the) winter

So no verão does not mean one specific summer; it’s naturally used for a general, habitual statement, just like in (the) summer in English.

Saying em verão without the article is grammatically possible but sounds strange and very uncommon in this context; native speakers would almost always say no verão.

Why does “verão” have that tilde (ã) and how do you pronounce it in European Portuguese?

The tilde on ã in verão marks a nasal vowel. The ending -ão is very common in Portuguese.

In European Portuguese:

• verão is roughly like “vuh-RÃW” (but shorter and tenser than English vowels).
  • ve-: a very quick, almost reduced sound, like a short “vuh”.
  • -rão: r is a strong guttural sound in the throat, and ão is nasal, similar to the ow in cow but pronounced through the nose.

So it’s not veh-RAO with an open mouth; the final vowel is nasalized.

Why is there a comma after “No verão”?

No verão is a time phrase at the beginning of the sentence, like “In the summer” in English.

In both Portuguese and English, it’s normal to put a comma after an introductory phrase:

• No verão, gosto de estudar…
• In the summer, I like to study…

In Portuguese, the comma here is not absolutely mandatory in casual writing, but it is standard and recommended, especially in more careful or formal writing.

Why do we say “gosto de estudar” and not “gosto estudar”?

In Portuguese, the verb gostar almost always needs the preposition de:

• gostar de + noun
  
  • Gosto de música. = I like music.
• gostar de + verb (infinitive)
  
  • Gosto de estudar. = I like (to) study / I enjoy studying.

So the pattern is:

gostar de + [thing you like]

Saying “gosto estudar” (without de) is incorrect in standard Portuguese.

Why is “estudar” in the infinitive form? Could it be something like “estudando”?

After gostar de, Portuguese uses the infinitive, not the gerund:

• Gosto de estudar. = I like to study / I enjoy studying.
• Not: Gosto de estudando. (incorrect)

The -ndo gerund in Portuguese (e.g. estudando) is mainly used for ongoing actions:

• Estou a estudar. / Estou estudando. = I am studying.

So with verbs of preference like gostar de, stick to the infinitive.

Can I say “Eu gosto de estudar…” or is “Eu” wrong here?

You can say Eu gosto de estudar português ao ar livre. It’s grammatically correct.

In Portuguese (especially in Portugal), the subject pronoun (eu, tu, ele, etc.) is often dropped because the verb ending already shows who the subject is:

• Gosto (1st person singular) → it’s already clear that it means “I like”.

You usually add Eu if you want to:

• emphasize the subject:
  
  • Eu gosto de estudar, mas ele não gosta.
    I like to study, but he doesn’t.
• contrast different people.

In a neutral, simple sentence, Gosto de estudar… without Eu is more natural.

Why is “português” not capitalized, while in English “Portuguese” is?

In Portuguese, names of languages are written with a lowercase initial letter, unless they start the sentence:

• Falo português e inglês. = I speak Portuguese and English.
• O Português (with capital) only if it’s at the start of a sentence or part of a title.

This contrasts with English, where Portuguese, English, Spanish are capitalized.

Why is there no article before “português”? Could I say “gosto de estudar o português”?

Both forms exist, but they are not used in the same way.

1. Without article (more common here):

   • Gosto de estudar português.
     This is the most natural and neutral way to talk about studying the language in general.

2. With article (more marked):

   • Gosto de estudar o português.
     This is possible, but it sounds a bit more specific or formal, as if you were thinking of Portuguese as a school subject or as an object of study (e.g. grammar, literature).

For everyday speech about learning the language, no article is more typical:

• Estudo português. = I (am) study(ing) Portuguese.

Does “português” here mean the language, or could it mean a Portuguese person?

In this sentence, português clearly means the Portuguese language, because it is the object of estudar:

• estudar português = to study Portuguese (the language)

Português can have several roles:

• Noun, meaning “Portuguese language”:
  • O português é uma língua românica.
• Noun, meaning “a Portuguese person” (usually masculine):
  • Ele é português. (He is Portuguese.)
• Adjective, meaning “Portuguese”:
  • vinho português = Portuguese wine

In estudar português, the natural reading is “study the language”.

What does “ao ar livre” literally mean, and how is it used?

Literally:

• ao = a (to/at) + o (the) → to the / in the
• ar = air
• livre = free

So ao ar livre literally means “in the free air”, which corresponds to “outdoors / in the open air”.

It’s a very common fixed expression in European Portuguese:

• jantar ao ar livre = to have dinner outdoors
• atividades ao ar livre = outdoor activities
• gosto de ler ao ar livre = I like to read outside / in the open air

It sounds natural and idiomatic in this sentence.

What’s the difference between “ao ar livre”, “fora”, and “lá fora”?

All can relate to “outside”, but they’re used differently:

• ao ar livre

  • Emphasizes open air / outdoors.
  • Often used for activities:
    
    • fazer exercício ao ar livre, comer ao ar livre.

• fora

  • Literally “outside” or simply “out”.
  • Used in many contexts:
    
    • Ele está fora. = He is outside.
    • Vou lá fora. = I’m going outside.

• lá fora

  • More like “out there / outside (over there)”.
  • Often adds a sense of location away from where you are now:
    
    • Está a chover lá fora. = It’s raining outside.

In your sentence, ao ar livre is best because it describes how you like to study (out in the open air), not just the location in a neutral way.

Can I move “No verão” to the end, like “Gosto de estudar português ao ar livre no verão”?

Yes, that’s perfectly acceptable:

• No verão, gosto de estudar português ao ar livre.
• Gosto de estudar português ao ar livre no verão.

Both are grammatically correct and natural.

• At the beginning, No verão sets the time frame first, like a topic:
  • “As for summer, in summer, I like to…”
• At the end, it sounds slightly more like an extra detail:
  • “I like to study Portuguese outdoors – in the summer.”

The difference is subtle; both versions are fine in everyday European Portuguese.