É difícil ensinar quando o aluno não quer conversar.

It is difficult to teach when the student does not want to talk.

Breakdown of É difícil ensinar quando o aluno não quer conversar.

• ser: to be
• o: the
• querer: to want
• não: not
• quando: when
• ensinar: to teach
• difícil: difficult
• aluno: the student
• conversar: to talk

Questions & Answers about É difícil ensinar quando o aluno não quer conversar.

Why does the sentence use É difícil ensinar instead of É difícil de ensinar?

In Portuguese, both forms can appear in everyday speech, but É difícil ensinar is often preferred and sounds more natural, especially in written language. Using É difícil de ensinar isn’t wrong, but it can be considered more colloquial or regionally influenced.

Can we drop the article and just say É difícil ensinar quando aluno não quer conversar?

No, that wouldn’t be correct in standard Portuguese. Unlike English, which doesn’t always use articles before nouns, Portuguese generally requires an article or another determiner. So o aluno (the student) is the normal usage here. You could say um aluno (a student) if you wanted to sound more indefinite, but you still need an article.

What’s the difference between conversar and falar?

Both mean “to talk/speak,” but conversar usually suggests a back-and-forth exchange or dialogue, whereas falar can simply mean “to speak” or “to talk,” even if there’s no real conversation taking place. In this sentence, conversar highlights the idea that the student doesn’t want to engage in dialogue.

Why is quer used instead of querer?

Querer is the infinitive form meaning “to want.” Quer is the third-person singular (ele/ela/você) present-tense form. Because the sentence talks about o aluno (the student—‘he’ or ‘she’), the verb is conjugated as quer.

Could we say É difícil ensinar quando o aluno não quer falar instead?

Yes, you could, and it would still be grammatically correct. However, it changes the nuance slightly: falar might sound more general, while conversar emphasizes the interactive nature of the communication. Both forms would be understandable and acceptable in everyday conversation.

Is it common to say É difícil ensinar followed by another clause like quando o aluno não...?

Absolutely. In Portuguese, using é difícil + infinitive + clause is a straightforward way to express that something is challenging under certain conditions. It’s a common construction you’ll see in many contexts outside of just teaching—É difícil viajar cuando o tempo está ruim, for example.