Ao usar um atalho de teclado, a Maria conseguiu mover o cursor sem tocar no rato.

Ao usar means something like when using, by using, or upon using.

It is a very common Portuguese structure:

• ao + infinitive

In this sentence:

• Ao usar um atalho de teclado = By using a keyboard shortcut / When using a keyboard shortcut

It introduces the circumstance in which the main action happened.

Examples:

• Ao entrar, fechou a porta. = When entering, he/she closed the door.
• Ao estudar mais, melhorou. = By studying more, he/she improved.

So here it shows that Maria managed to move the cursor through the action of using the shortcut.

In European Portuguese, it is very common to use the definite article before a person’s name:

• a Maria
• o João

So a Maria simply means Maria, but in a very natural Portuguese way.

This article is especially common in everyday speech and is perfectly normal in Portugal. English does not do this, so it often feels strange at first.

Compare:

• A Maria chegou. = Maria arrived.
• O Pedro saiu. = Pedro left.

You do not translate that article into English.

Atalho de teclado means keyboard shortcut.

Breakdown:

• atalho = shortcut
• de teclado = of keyboard / keyboard-related

Portuguese often uses noun + de + noun where English prefers a compound noun:

• atalho de teclado = keyboard shortcut
• tecla de espaço = space bar
• rato de computador = computer mouse

So this is a very normal Portuguese way to build that expression.

Conseguiu mover means managed to move or was able to move.

Structure:

• conseguir + infinitive

So:

• conseguiu mover = managed to move
• consegue abrir = can manage to open
• não consegui encontrar = I couldn’t find

If you said just moveu o cursor, that would mean simply moved the cursor.
But conseguiu mover o cursor adds the idea that there may have been some difficulty, effort, or successful achievement.

So the sentence is not only saying that Maria moved the cursor, but that she succeeded in doing so.

Conseguiu is the pretérito perfeito of conseguir.

That tense usually corresponds to the simple past in English:

• eu consegui = I managed
• ela conseguiu = she managed
• nós conseguimos = we managed

Here, a Maria conseguiu tells us that this happened as a completed action in the past.

After sem, Portuguese normally uses the infinitive:

• sem tocar = without touching
• sem falar = without speaking
• sem olhar = without looking

So:

• sem tocar no rato = without touching the mouse

You would not normally say a finite verb form like sem tocou here.

This is a very useful pattern to remember:

• sem + infinitive = without + -ing

Because the verb tocar often takes the preposition em when it means to touch.

So:

• tocar em algo = to touch something

With the article:

• em + o = no

That gives:

• tocar no rato = touch the mouse

This is a key point, because English says touch something directly, but Portuguese often says touch in something in structure, even though that sounds wrong in English.

More examples:

• Não toques na mesa. = Don’t touch the table.
• Ela tocou no ecrã. = She touched the screen.

Yes. In European Portuguese, rato is the normal word for a computer mouse.

So:

• rato can mean the animal mouse
• and also the computer device mouse

Context makes the meaning clear.

In Portugal, rato is the standard everyday word for the computer device. This is one of those vocabulary items that learners should definitely know for European Portuguese.

Yes, cursor is masculine, so it takes o:

• o cursor

That is why the sentence says:

• mover o cursor

Gender in Portuguese is something you usually learn together with the noun.
So it is best to memorize vocabulary like this:

• o cursor
• o rato
• o teclado
• a tecla

The phrase Ao usar um atalho de teclado is an introductory adverbial phrase. It gives the context for the main action, so it is separated by a comma.

Structure:

• Ao usar um atalho de teclado, = introductory phrase
• a Maria conseguiu mover o cursor sem tocar no rato. = main clause

This is similar to English punctuation in sentences like:

• By using a keyboard shortcut, Maria managed to move the cursor...

You may also see the sentence with the order changed:

• A Maria conseguiu mover o cursor sem tocar no rato ao usar um atalho de teclado.

But the version with the introductory phrase first is very natural.

Yes, depending on context.

In this sentence, both are possible:

• When using a keyboard shortcut...
• By using a keyboard shortcut...

The structure ao + infinitive can express:

1. time: when doing
2. sometimes a sense close to means or method: by doing

Here, because the shortcut is what allowed the action, by using feels especially natural.

Yes, fairly flexible.

Original:

• Ao usar um atalho de teclado, a Maria conseguiu mover o cursor sem tocar no rato.

Other possible orders:

• A Maria conseguiu mover o cursor sem tocar no rato ao usar um atalho de teclado.
• A Maria, ao usar um atalho de teclado, conseguiu mover o cursor sem tocar no rato.

The original sentence is very natural because it starts with the circumstance first, then gives the main result.

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly.

• sem tocar no rato = without touching the mouse
• sem usar o rato = without using the mouse

The original sentence is more physical and specific: Maria did not even need to touch it.

If you say sem usar o rato, that means she did not use it as a tool, which is also logical, but a bit less vivid.

Yes, it fits European Portuguese very well.

A few clues:

• a Maria with the article before the name is very typical
• rato for computer mouse is standard in Portugal
• the whole sentence sounds natural in European Portuguese

A Brazilian Portuguese speaker would understand it, but some wording choices or habits might differ depending on region and style.

A fairly literal breakdown would be:

• Ao usar = on using / by using / when using
• um atalho de teclado = a keyboard shortcut
• a Maria = Maria
• conseguiu mover = managed to move
• o cursor = the cursor
• sem tocar no rato = without touching the mouse

So the structure is very close to:

By using a keyboard shortcut, Maria managed to move the cursor without touching the mouse.