No verão, a minha avó compra figos no mercado.

Because Portuguese usually contracts the preposition em with the definite article o:

• em + o = no
• em + a = na
• em + os = nos
• em + as = nas

So:

• no verão = in the summer

This kind of contraction is very common in Portuguese and is something you should get used to early.

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

• a minha avó = my grandmother
• o meu pai = my father
• a minha casa = my house

For a learner coming from English, this can feel strange because English does not say the my grandmother. But in Portuguese, the article is normal.

In Brazilian Portuguese, the article before possessives is also common, but it can be omitted more often depending on style and region. In Portugal, using the article is especially standard.

Yes, it is possible in some contexts, and people would understand it, but in European Portuguese it sounds less natural in a neutral sentence like this.

The most natural version in Portugal is:

• A minha avó compra figos no mercado.

So as a learner of Portuguese from Portugal, it is safest to include the article before possessives in ordinary statements.

Compra is the 3rd person singular form of the verb comprar (to buy) in the present indicative.

Conjugation of comprar in the present:

• eu compro = I buy
• tu compras = you buy
• ele/ela/você compra = he/she/you buy
• nós compramos = we buy
• vós comprais = you all buy
• eles/elas/vocês compram = they/you all buy

Since a minha avó is she / my grandmother, the correct form is compra.

In this sentence, compra most naturally means buys in the sense of a habit or regular action:

• No verão, a minha avó compra figos no mercado.
• In summer, my grandmother buys figs at the market.

The Portuguese present tense often covers what English expresses with the simple present for habits.

It can sometimes also refer to a present action depending on context, but here, with No verão, it clearly sounds habitual.

Portuguese often omits subject pronouns when they are not needed, because the verb ending already gives the person.

So instead of saying:

• Ela compra figos no mercado.

Portuguese can simply say:

• Compra figos no mercado.

In your sentence, the subject is already expressed as a minha avó, so adding ela would be unnecessary.

This is different from English, where a subject is normally required.

Figos is plural because the sentence is talking about figs in general, not just one fig.

There is no article because Portuguese often leaves out the article when talking about an indefinite quantity of something:

• compra figos = buys figs / buys some figs

If you said:

• compra os figos

that would usually mean buys the figs, referring to specific figs already known from the context.

So:

• figos = figs in general / some figs
• os figos = the figs, specific ones

For the same reason as no verão: it is another contraction.

• em + o mercado = no mercado

So:

• no mercado = at the market / in the market

In English, we often choose between at and in, but Portuguese commonly uses em for location, and after contraction that becomes no here.

In this sentence, no mercado most naturally means at the market or in the market, describing where she buys the figs.

So the idea is:

• she buys figs there

If you wanted to emphasize movement to the market, Portuguese would usually use another structure, such as:

• vai ao mercado = goes to the market

So:

• compra figos no mercado = buys figs at the market
• vai ao mercado = goes to the market

Portuguese can move time expressions to the front very naturally.

Starting with No verão gives the sentence a time frame first:

• No verão, a minha avó compra figos no mercado.

This is like saying:

• In summer, my grandmother buys figs at the market.

You could also say:

• A minha avó compra figos no mercado no verão.

That is also grammatical, but the original version emphasizes when this happens.

The comma is very natural here because No verão is an introductory time expression.

• No verão, a minha avó compra figos no mercado.

In short sentences, you may sometimes see the comma omitted:

• No verão a minha avó compra figos no mercado.

But with an introductory phrase, using the comma is clear and common, especially in careful writing.

So for learners, including the comma here is a good habit.

The accent in avó shows both stress and vowel quality.

• avó = grandmother
• avô = grandfather

This is a very important pair because the written accent changes the meaning.

In general terms:

• avó has an open stressed ó
• avô has a different stressed vowel sound, written ô

So the accent is not decorative; it helps distinguish words.

The ã shows a nasal vowel, which is very characteristic of Portuguese.

So verão is not pronounced like a plain a followed by n. The vowel itself is nasalized.

Also, the written -ão ending is extremely common in Portuguese:

• verão = summer
• pão = bread
• coração = heart

For English speakers, nasal vowels usually take practice because English does not use them in the same way.

In standard usage, when talking about the season as a time period, Portuguese normally says:

• no verão
• no inverno
• na primavera
• no outono

So using the article is the normal pattern here.

A learner should treat these as standard expressions:

• no verão = in summer
• no inverno = in winter

By itself, it most naturally suggests a habit during the summer season, so something like:

• In summer / During the summer, my grandmother buys figs at the market.

It does not have to mean just one particular summer unless the wider context makes that clear.

So the sentence feels more like a general recurring fact than a one-time event.

Usually, yes, but the exact meaning depends on context.

Mercado can refer to:

• a market building
• a food market
• a local market where produce is sold

In this sentence, it likely means the kind of market where someone would buy fresh fruit, so market is a good translation.

Depending on context, Portuguese might also use words like feira, but mercado here is perfectly normal and straightforward.