Breakdown of Eu continuo a praticar pintura todos os dias.
eu
I
a
to / at (direction)
todos os dias
every day
continuar
to continue
Questions & Answers about Eu continuo a praticar pintura todos os dias.
Why does the Portuguese sentence use a praticar instead of a word ending in "-ndo" for "practicing"?
In European Portuguese, we use continuar a followed by an infinitive verb (like praticar) to say we "continue doing" something. While English uses the "-ing" form ("practicing"), European Portuguese relies on this a + infinitive structure for ongoing actions.
Is the word a always required after continuar?
When continuar is followed by another verb, yes. It needs the preposition a to connect them. The fixed structure is continuar a + infinitive (to continue doing something). If it is followed directly by a noun instead of a verb, the a is not used.
Why isn't there a definite article before pintura?
When talking about practicing a general skill, sport, or art form, Portuguese often drops the definite article. We just say praticar pintura (to practice painting) similar to how you might say tocar piano (to play piano).
Why is "every day" translated as todos os dias?
Todos os dias literally translates to "all the days". This is the standard way to express "every day" in Portuguese. Remember that you must include the plural definite article os between todos and dias.