Portuguese Phrase
Tomo café às 7.
Meaning
‘Tomo café às 7.’ means ‘I drink coffee at seven o’clock.’ It expresses a regular habit or a scheduled activity in the morning.
When to use
Use this sentence when you are talking about your daily routine, answering a question about when you have coffee, or describing a fixed schedule.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Tomocaféàs7
Tomar (present)
‘Tomo’ is the first‑person singular present indicative of the verb tomar, meaning ‘to drink’ or ‘to have’.
café (noun)
A masculine noun meaning ‘coffee’; it does not change in the singular.
às (preposition + article)
‘às’ is the contraction of the preposition a ‘at/to’ and the feminine plural article as, used before time expressions.
Numeral 7
When a numeral is used for the hour, it is read as the word ‘sete’ and follows the preposition às.
🗨In Conversation
Que horas você costuma tomar café?
What time do you usually have coffee?
Tomo café às 7.
I have coffee at seven.
✕Common Mistakes
Tomo café a 7.
The preposition ‘a’ must contract with the article ‘as’ to form ‘às’ before a time expression.
Tomo café às 7h.
While ‘às 7h’ is understandable, native speakers usually drop the ‘h’ and say ‘às 7’ or ‘às sete’. Adding the ‘h’ sounds overly formal in casual speech.
Eu tomo café às 7.
The subject pronoun ‘eu’ is optional in Portuguese and often omitted; including it isn’t wrong but can sound redundant in a simple routine statement.
↔Alternatives
Bebo café às 7.
I drink coffee at 7.
Costumo tomar café às 7.
I usually have coffee at 7.
Tomo café às sete da manhã.
I have coffee at seven in the morning.
Cultural Tip
In Brazil, coffee is a cornerstone of breakfast and is often enjoyed with pão de queijo or a sweet pastry. It’s common to meet friends for a quick ‘cafezinho’ around 7 a.m., especially in the South and Southeast regions. Remember that ‘às’ is mandatory before the hour; saying ‘a 7’ is considered incorrect.