Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Eu durmo oito horas.

Eu durmo oito horas.

I sleep eight hours.

Breakdown of Eu durmo oito horas.

Questions & Answers about Eu durmo oito horas.

Why is it spelled durmo and not dormo if the verb is dormir?

The verb dormir (to sleep) is irregular in the "I" form. The o changes to a u, making it eu durmo. For most other forms, it keeps the o, like ele dorme (he sleeps).

Do I always need to include the word Eu (I)?

No, you can just say Durmo oito horas. Because the verb form durmo only ever goes with eu, the "I" is already built into the verb. Portuguese speakers often drop the pronoun unless they want to add emphasis.

In English we often say "I sleep FOR eight hours". Why isn't there a word for "for" in this sentence?

In Portuguese, you don't need a preposition to express how long you spend doing something. You can simply state the amount of time directly, just like saying "I sleep eight hours" in English.

Could oito horas also mean "eight o'clock" here?

Context usually makes it clear, but if you wanted to say "I sleep AT eight o'clock", you would need the word às (at the). That would be Eu durmo às oito horas. Because there is no às in this sentence, it means a duration of eight hours.