À noite, o meu avô começa a roncar, e a minha avó suspira antes de fechar a porta do quarto.

À noite is a fixed time expression meaning at night or sometimes in the evening, depending on context.

The à is the contraction of a + a. In Portuguese, this kind of contraction appears in several common expressions:

• à noite = at night
• à tarde = in the afternoon
• à direita = on the right

So here, it is best learned as a set phrase: À noite.

In European Portuguese, it is very common to use the definite article before possessives:

• o meu avô
• a minha avó
• o meu livro
• a minha casa

This is more standard and natural in Portugal than leaving the article out. English does not do this, so it often feels unusual at first.

So:

• o meu avô = my grandfather
• a minha avó = my grandmother

Because possessives agree with the noun they describe, not with the speaker.

• avô is masculine, so: o meu avô
• avó is feminine, so: a minha avó

The same pattern applies elsewhere:

• o meu pai
• a minha mãe
• o meu carro
• a minha mochila

They are two different words:

• avô = grandfather
• avó = grandmother

The accent changes both pronunciation and meaning:

• avô has a circumflex: ô, a more closed sound
• avó has an acute accent: ó, a more open sound

So this is an important spelling difference to notice.

Because começar normally uses the pattern começar a + infinitive.

So:

• começar a roncar = to start snoring
• começar a falar = to start speaking
• começar a chover = to start raining

That a is part of the verb pattern, so it should not be omitted here.

After começar a, the next verb stays in the infinitive.

So the structure is:

• ele começa a roncar
• ela começa a cantar
• eu começo a trabalhar

The conjugated verb is começa, and roncar remains unchanged because it depends on começar.

The present tense in Portuguese can describe:

• something happening now
• a habitual action
• a typical repeated situation

In this sentence, it most naturally sounds like a habitual or recurring scene: this is what happens at night.

So começa and suspira can be understood as:

• he starts snoring
• she sighs

in the sense of a repeated pattern.

Antes de + infinitive means before doing something.

So:

• antes de fechar = before closing
• antes de sair = before leaving
• antes de dormir = before sleeping

In this sentence, fechar refers to what a minha avó does. Since the subject is the same, Portuguese does not need to repeat it.

So:

• a minha avó suspira antes de fechar a porta do quarto means
• my grandmother sighs before closing the bedroom door

Do is the contraction of de + o.

So:

• do quarto = of the bedroom
• a porta do quarto = the door of the bedroom

In natural English, we usually say the bedroom door, but Portuguese often uses a de structure where English uses a noun + noun combination.

More examples:

• a janela da casa = the window of the house / the house window
• o carro do meu pai = my father’s car

Usually, quarto means bedroom, not just any room.

So:

• porta do quarto normally means bedroom door

If you want to speak about a room in a more general sense, Portuguese often uses other words depending on context, such as divisão or a specific room name like sala, cozinha, or casa de banho.

There are two punctuation points learners often notice here:

• À noite,
  The comma after the opening time expression is very normal. It separates the introductory phrase from the main clause.

• ..., e a minha avó...
  The comma before e is less obligatory. Many people would write the sentence without it. Here it can be used to mark a pause or to separate two coordinated clauses with different subjects:

  • o meu avô ...
  • a minha avó ...

So the comma before e is possible, but not always necessary.