Learn Portuguese (Portugal): O cantor canta à noite no café. - The singer sings at night at the café.

The word à is a contraction of the preposition a (at/to) and the feminine article a (the). When they combine, we use the grave accent (pointing left) to show the merger: a + a = à. The phrase à noite literally translates to at the night.

Could I say de noite instead of à noite here?

Yes, de noite is also very common in Portuguese and means during the night or at night. However, à noite is often used when talking about a specific evening or a regular scheduled event, like a singer performing. Both are correct.

The English translation says at the café. Why does the Portuguese sentence use no instead of ao?

In Portuguese, the preposition em (in/on/at) is used to show where someone or something is currently located. no is the contraction of em + o (the). The preposition a (which would form ao) is mostly used for movement to a destination. Since the singer is already inside the café performing, we use no café.

If the singer were a woman, would the word cantor change?