Às vezes, tenho vontade de desligar o telemóvel e ouvir música.

Às vezes means sometimes.

It is literally made up of às + vezes:

• às = contraction of a + as
• vezes = times/occasions

So the expression originally relates to at times, which is why vezes is plural. In modern usage, you should just learn às vezes as a fixed expression meaning sometimes.

The accent marks a contraction called crase.

Here, a + as = às.

So in às vezes, the à is not just a normal a with an accent added randomly. It shows that two vowels have merged:

• a
• as

This is very common in Portuguese. In this expression, you should simply memorize the spelling às vezes.

The comma separates the introductory adverbial expression Às vezes from the main clause:

• Às vezes, tenho vontade de desligar o telemóvel...

This comma is very common and natural in writing, especially when the sentence begins with a time expression or adverbial phrase.

You may also see:

• Às vezes tenho vontade de desligar o telemóvel...

That is also possible in less formal or lighter punctuation styles. So the comma helps readability, but the sentence can still be correct without it.

Tenho vontade de means something like:

• I feel like
• I have the urge to
• I’m in the mood to
• I have a desire to

Literally, it is I have desire/wish to.

It is a very natural Portuguese structure. In this sentence, tenho vontade de desligar o telemóvel e ouvir música means the speaker feels like doing those things.

This is slightly different from simply saying quero (I want).
Compare:

• Quero desligar o telemóvel. = I want to turn off my phone.
• Tenho vontade de desligar o telemóvel. = I feel like turning off my phone.

The second often sounds a bit softer, more about mood or inclination.

Because vontade normally links to a following verb with de.

So the pattern is:

• ter vontade de + infinitive

Examples:

• Tenho vontade de dormir.
• Ela tem vontade de viajar.
• Temos vontade de sair.

So in your sentence:

• tenho vontade de desligar
• tenho vontade de ... ouvir

The de belongs to the expression ter vontade de.

They are in the infinitive because they depend on tenho vontade de.

After ter vontade de, Portuguese uses the infinitive:

• tenho vontade de comer
• tenho vontade de descansar
• tenho vontade de ouvir música

Here, the speaker is saying they feel like doing something, so the actions stay in the infinitive:

• desligar
• ouvir

Also, both infinitives are coordinated by e:

• desligar o telemóvel e ouvir música

So the full idea is: I feel like [turning off the phone] and [listening to music].

Because both verbs belong to the same structure:

• tenho vontade de desligar o telemóvel e ouvir música

The de applies to both infinitives. Portuguese often avoids repeating it when the structure is clear.

You could think of it as:

• tenho vontade de [desligar o telemóvel] e [ouvir música]

Repeating de would sound unnatural here.

Here, desligar means to turn off.

So:

• desligar o telemóvel = to turn off the mobile phone

More generally, desligar can be used for switching something off:

• desligar a televisão = to turn off the TV
• desligar o computador = to turn off the computer

It can also sometimes mean to disconnect or even to hang up in other contexts, but in this sentence turn off is the natural meaning.

Because this is European Portuguese.

In Portugal, the usual word is:

• telemóvel = mobile phone / cell phone

In Brazilian Portuguese, people usually say:

• celular

So if you are learning Portuguese from Portugal, telemóvel is the standard everyday word.

Because música here is being used in a general sense.

• ouvir música = to listen to music in general

No article is needed when you mean the activity generally.

But if you mean specific music, you might use the article:

• ouvir a música = to listen to the song / the music
• ouvir esta música = to listen to this song/piece of music

So in your sentence, ouvir música means listening to music as an activity, not to one specific song.

Yes, ouvir música is the normal way to say to listen to music in Portuguese.

English uses the pattern:

• listen to music

Portuguese usually does not need an equivalent of to after ouvir:

• ouvir música

That is because ouvir takes a direct object. So Portuguese expresses the idea more like hear/listen music, even though the natural English translation is listen to music.

Yes, absolutely. That would be correct.

But the nuance changes slightly:

• quero desligar o telemóvel e ouvir música = I want to turn off my phone and listen to music
• tenho vontade de desligar o telemóvel e ouvir música = I feel like turning off my phone and listening to music

So quero is more direct, while tenho vontade de often sounds more like a passing feeling, desire, or mood.

It adds a second action linked to the first one by e (and).

So the structure is:

• tenho vontade de desligar o telemóvel
• e ouvir música

Both actions depend on tenho vontade de. The speaker feels like doing both things:

1. desligar o telemóvel
2. ouvir música

This kind of coordination is very common in Portuguese and works much like English:

• I feel like turning off my phone and listening to music.

A rough breakdown is:

• Às vezes = sometimes
• tenho = I have
• vontade de = desire to / feel like
• desligar = turn off
• o telemóvel = the mobile phone
• e = and
• ouvir música = listen to music

So very literally:

• Sometimes, I have the desire to turn off the mobile phone and listen to music.

That is not the most natural English translation, but it helps show how the Portuguese sentence is built.