Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Eu durmo mal.

Eu durmo mal.

I sleep badly.

Breakdown of Eu durmo mal.

Elon.io is an online learning platform

We have an entire course teaching Portuguese (Portugal) grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Portuguese (Portugal) now

Questions & Answers about Eu durmo mal.

Wait, the dictionary form is dormir. Why does it change to a 'u' in durmo?

The verb dormir (to sleep) is slightly irregular in the present tense. When you are talking about yourself (the 'I' form), the letter 'o' changes to a 'u', making it durmo. For most other forms, the 'o' comes back, like in ele dorme (he sleeps).

How would I use this lesson's words like muito (a lot) or pouco (a little) in this sentence?

You can just swap out mal for one of those adverbs of degree. To say 'I sleep a lot', you would say Eu durmo muito. To say 'I sleep a little', you use Eu durmo pouco. Because they are adverbs describing the verb, they follow the exact same rules as mal.

If a group of people is sleeping badly, does mal become plural to match?

No, it stays exactly the same! Because mal is an adverb describing how the action is done, it is invariable. This means it never changes for gender or number. 'They sleep badly' is simply Eles dormem mal.

What is the difference between mal and mau?

Mal is an adverb meaning 'badly' (the opposite of bem, meaning 'well'). It describes actions, like how you sleep in this sentence. Mau is an adjective meaning 'bad' (the opposite of bom, meaning 'good'). You use mau to describe nouns, like a bad dream.