Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Eu faço uma cópia do documento.

Eu faço uma cópia do documento. – I make a copy of the document. (slight emphasis on I)
Faço uma cópia do documento. – I make a copy of the document. (more neutral, very natural in speech)

You usually include Eu for emphasis, contrast, or clarity (for example, Eu faço, tu verificas. – I make it, you check it.).

Why is it faço and not fazo?

Because fazer (to do / to make) is an irregular verb in the present tense.

Fazer – presente do indicativo (European Portuguese)

eu faço – I do / make
tu fazes – you do / make
ele / ela faz – he / she does / makes
nós fazemos – we do / make
vocês fazem – you (plural) do / make
eles / elas fazem – they do / make

So the first-person singular form is faço, not fazo.

Does Eu faço uma cópia do documento mean I make or I’m making?

It can mean both, depending on context.

Portuguese simple present (faço) covers:

Habitual / repeated actions
- Eu faço uma cópia do documento todos os dias.
  I make a copy of the document every day.
Actions happening now (in some contexts)
If someone asks you to make a copy, you might say:
- Está bem, eu faço uma cópia do documento.
  OK, I’ll make a copy of the document / I’m making a copy.

However, to clearly express right now in European Portuguese, you usually use estar a + infinitive:

Estou a fazer uma cópia do documento. – I am making a copy of the document (right now).

What does do mean here, and why not write de o documento?

Do is a contraction of the preposition de + the definite article o:

de + o = do

So literally, uma cópia do documento is a copy of the document.

You must use the contraction in normal speech and writing:

✅ uma cópia do documento
❌ uma cópia de o documento (ungrammatical)

Similarly:

da = de + a (feminine singular) – a capa da revista (the cover of the magazine)
dos = de + os – cópias dos documentos (copies of the documents)
das = de + as – cópias das cartas (copies of the letters)

Why is it uma cópia and not a cópia?

Because uma is the indefinite article (a / one), and a is the definite article (the).

Eu faço uma cópia do documento.
I make a copy of the document / I make one copy of the document.
– The copy is not specifically identified; you’re just saying you make a copy.
Eu faço a cópia do documento.
I make the copy of the document.
– Refers to a specific copy that is already known in the context (for example, “You print it, and I make the copy”).

In most neutral contexts, when you just mean “a copy”, uma cópia is the natural choice.

Could I say Eu copio o documento instead of Eu faço uma cópia do documento?

You can, but the nuance is a bit different and faço uma cópia is more common in everyday speech.

Eu faço uma cópia do documento.
Very natural, everyday way to say “I make a copy of the document.”
Eu copio o documento.
Grammatically correct, but can sound slightly more formal or technical, like I copy the document as an action (e.g., you copy text from one place to another).

In European Portuguese, people also say:

Eu tiro uma fotocópia do documento. (I make a photocopy of the document.)
Eu faço uma fotocópia do documento.

For general, neutral usage, fazer uma cópia is perfectly good and very common.

Is this sentence the same in Brazilian and European Portuguese?

The sentence Eu faço uma cópia do documento. is correct and fully natural in both Brazilian and European Portuguese.

Differences appear more in:

Pronunciation (Portugal vs Brazil accent)
Alternative expressions:
- Brazil often: tirar uma cópia, tirar xerox (informal)
- Portugal: fazer uma cópia, tirar uma fotocópia

But grammatically and lexically, Eu faço uma cópia do documento. is fine in both varieties.

How would I say “I’m making a copy of the document right now” in European Portuguese?

The most natural European Portuguese form is:

Estou a fazer uma cópia do documento.
Literally: I am to make a copy of the document.

European Portuguese uses estar a + infinitive to express the present continuous (action in progress):

estou a fazer – I am doing / making
estás a ler – you are reading
estamos a escrever – we are writing

So, for “right now”, prefer Estou a fazer… rather than just Faço….

How do you pronounce Eu faço uma cópia do documento in European Portuguese?

Approximate European Portuguese pronunciation (simplified):

Eu – like eh-oo said quickly: [eu] or [ew]
faço – FAH-su: [ˈfasu]
uma – OO-mɐ: [ˈumɐ]
cópia – KAW-pyah (with an open o as in off): [ˈkɔpjɐ]
do – du: [du]
documento – roughly doo-ku-MEN-tu: [dokʊˈmẽtu]

Put together (approximate):
[eu ˈfasu ˈumɐ ˈkɔpjɐ du dokʊˈmẽtu]

What do the accent marks in faço and cópia tell me?

Two different signs, two different functions:

ç in faço (cedilla)
- The cedilla (ç) makes c sound like s before a, o, u.
- So faço is pronounced with an s sound: FAH-su, not FAH-ku.
ó in cópia (acute accent)
- The acute accent (´) marks the stressed syllable and usually an open vowel.
- cópia is stressed on có-: KÓ-pia (not co-PI-a).

Accent marks in Portuguese usually show:

where the stress is, and
in some cases, whether the vowel is open or closed.

Can Eu faço uma cópia do documento also mean “I will make a copy of the document”?

Yes, in the right context, the present can refer to the near future, similar to English:

A seguir à reunião, eu faço uma cópia do documento.
After the meeting, I’ll make a copy of the document.

However, if you want to be clearly future-oriented, you can use:

Vou fazer uma cópia do documento. – I’m going to make a copy of the document.
Farei uma cópia do documento. – I will make a copy of the document. (more formal/literary)

How would this sentence look in the plural, as in “I make copies of the documents”?

You need to pluralize the nouns and the article, and adjust the contraction:

Eu faço cópias dos documentos.

Breakdown:

cópias – plural of cópia
documentos – plural of documento
de + os = dos – so dos documentos = of the documents

Pattern:

singular: uma cópia do documento (a copy of the document)
plural: cópias dos documentos (copies of the documents)