Breakdown of Os alunos estudam às oito da noite.
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
o aluno
the student (m)
oito
eight
estudar
to study
Questions & Answers about Os alunos estudam às oito da noite.
Why do we use às before oito instead of just a?
When telling time in Portuguese, we include the word "the" before the number because we are referring to "the hours" (as horas), which is feminine and plural. The preposition a (at) combines with the plural feminine article as (the) to make the contraction às.
What does the backward accent mark on às mean?
That mark is called a grave accent. In Portuguese, it is used to show a contraction where two "a" vowels merge together. Here, it indicates that the preposition a (at) has swallowed up the article as (the) so you do not have to write or say "a as".
Why is it da noite instead of à noite here?
When you attach a time of day directly to a specific hour on the clock, you use da (of the). So oito da noite literally means "eight of the night". If you just wanted to say "The students study at night" without an exact hour, you would use à noite.
Why does the verb estudam end with an "m"?
Regular verbs ending in "-ar" like estudar (to study) drop the ending and add "-am" in the present tense when talking about "they" (eles/elas) or "you all" (vocês). Because os alunos (the students) means "they", the verb becomes estudam.