A quarentena protege a espécie.

to protect

Breakdown of A quarentena protege a espécie.

• a espécie: the species
• a quarentena: the quarantine

Questions & Answers about A quarentena protege a espécie.

Why is there a before both quarentena and espécie?

Because a is the feminine singular definite article in Portuguese, meaning the.

• a quarentena = the quarantine
• a espécie = the species

Both nouns are feminine singular, so they take a.

Also, Portuguese often uses the definite article in places where English might sound more flexible. In a sentence like this, a espécie can refer to the species in a general sense.

Is quarentena a feminine noun?

Yes. Quarentena is feminine, so it takes feminine words with it:

• a quarentena
• longa quarentena
• esta quarentena

A good habit in Portuguese is to learn nouns together with their article, so think of it as a quarentena, not just quarentena.

What form is protege?

Protege is the third-person singular present indicative form of the verb proteger.

So it can mean:

• he protects
• she protects
• it protects
• you protect (formal você)

In this sentence, it matches a quarentena, which is singular:

• A quarentena protege... = The quarantine protects...