Em julho, muita gente vai de férias, mas eu ainda tenho uma avaliação importante.

Because with months in Portuguese, you normally use em:

• em julho = in July
• em agosto = in August

You do not usually say no julho for dates like this.

A useful pattern is:

• em + month
• em + year
• em + season

For example:

• em julho
• em 2026
• no verão / em verão depends on usage, but no verão is very common because verão usually takes the article

So in this sentence, Em julho is the normal choice.

In Portuguese, months of the year are normally written with a lowercase letter, unlike in English.

So:

• julho
• agosto
• dezembro

not:

• Julho
• Agosto
• Dezembro

The same is true for days of the week in Portuguese.

Muita gente means a lot of people or many people.

Literally:

• muita = a lot of / much
• gente = people

But there is an important grammar point: gente is grammatically singular, even though it refers to many people.

So Portuguese says:

• Muita gente vai...
  literally: A lot of people goes...

In natural English we say a lot of people go, but in Portuguese the verb agrees with gente, so it stays singular.

Because the subject is gente, and gente is grammatically singular.

So:

• A gente vai
• Muita gente vai

Not:

• Muita gente vão

Compare:

• Muita gente vai de férias. = a lot of people go on holiday
• Muitas pessoas vão de férias. = many people go on holiday

Here:

• gente → singular verb (vai)
• pessoas → plural verb (vão)

Ir de férias is a fixed expression meaning to go on holiday / to go on vacation.

So:

• vou de férias
• vais de férias
• vai de férias

This is just how Portuguese expresses the idea. English uses on in go on holiday, but Portuguese uses de.

Examples:

• Em agosto vou de férias. = In August I’m going on holiday.
• Eles foram de férias para o Algarve. = They went on holiday to the Algarve.

So de here is not something you translate word-for-word; it is part of the expression.

In Portuguese, férias is normally used in the plural.

So Portuguese says:

• Estou de férias. = I’m on holiday / on vacation.
• As férias foram ótimas. = The holidays were great.

This is one of those words that works differently from English. Even if in English you might say vacation in the singular, Portuguese usually uses férias.

In European Portuguese, férias is the normal everyday word for holiday time from work or school.

Yes, absolutely.

• Muita gente vai de férias.
• Muitas pessoas vão de férias.

Both are correct, but the feeling is slightly different:

• muita gente sounds very natural, common, and general
• muitas pessoas sounds a bit more neutral or explicit

Also remember the verb agreement changes:

• muita gente vai
• muitas pessoas vão

Yes, it could be omitted.

Portuguese often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person:

• tenho already means I have

So both are possible:

• ...mas eu ainda tenho uma avaliação importante.
• ...mas ainda tenho uma avaliação importante.

Including eu adds contrast or emphasis. In this sentence, that makes sense because of mas:

• Many people go on holiday, but I still have an important assessment.

So eu highlights the contrast between other people and me.

Here ainda means still.

So:

• eu ainda tenho uma avaliação importante = I still have an important assessment

It suggests that, although other people are already going on holiday, this person is not free yet.

Ainda can also mean yet or even in other contexts, but here still is the best translation.

Examples:

• Ainda estou a trabalhar. = I’m still working.
• Ainda não terminei. = I haven’t finished yet.

That is the normal position here.

In Portuguese, adverbs like ainda, já, sempre, nunca often come before the verb:

• ainda tenho
• já sei
• nunca fui

So eu ainda tenho is the most natural order.

You may sometimes hear different placements for emphasis in other structures, but for a learner, subject + adverb + verb is a very good pattern to follow here.

Not exactly.

Avaliação means assessment or evaluation. It is a broader word than exam.

Depending on context, it could refer to:

• a test
• an assessed task
• a piece of coursework
• an evaluation at school or university
• even a professional assessment in other contexts

In European Portuguese school/university contexts, avaliação can sound more general than exame.

Compare:

• exame = exam
• teste = test
• prova = test / exam / assessment, depending on context
• avaliação = assessment / evaluation

So in this sentence, uma avaliação importante suggests an important assessed event, but not necessarily a formal final exam.

In Portuguese, adjectives usually come after the noun:

• uma avaliação importante
• um livro interessante
• uma decisão difícil

So avaliação importante is the normal order.

Putting the adjective before the noun is sometimes possible, but it is often more literary, emphatic, or changes the nuance. For most everyday situations, learners should use:

• noun + adjective

Because Em julho is an introductory time phrase.

Portuguese often uses a comma after an opening expression such as:

• a time phrase
• a place phrase
• a longer introductory phrase

So this is very natural:

• Em julho, muita gente vai de férias...

You may sometimes see short introductory phrases without a comma, especially in informal writing, but the comma here is perfectly standard and clear.

Because mas means but, and it introduces a contrast between two clauses.

The sentence contrasts:

• many people go on holiday in July
• I still have an important assessment

In Portuguese, it is normal to put a comma before mas when it links two full clauses:

• ..., mas eu ainda tenho...

This is similar to English punctuation with but.

Grammatically, vai is present tense.

But in Portuguese, the present tense is often used for:

• habitual actions
• general truths
• near-future situations
• things that normally happen at a certain time

So Em julho, muita gente vai de férias can be understood as:

• In July, many people go on holiday
  or
• In July, many people are going on holiday

It is a normal use of the present tense to describe what typically happens in July.

A few useful pronunciation notes:

• julho: the lh sounds like the lli in million for many English speakers
• gente: the ge sounds like zh in measure
• férias: stress on the fé
• avaliação: stress on the last syllable -ção

Very roughly:

• Em julho ≈ eng ZHOO-lyoo
• muita gente ≈ MWEE-tuh ZHEN-tuh
• férias ≈ FEH-ree-ush (very approximate)
• avaliação ≈ ah-vah-lee-ah-SOUNG

In European Portuguese, unstressed vowels are often reduced, so the real pronunciation is usually more compressed than the spelling suggests.