Este problema é importante para todos nós.

This problem is important for all of us.

Breakdown of Este problema é importante para todos nós.

• ser: to be
• este: this
• para: for
• importante: important
• todos nós: all of us
• o problema: the problem

Questions & Answers about Este problema é importante para todos nós.

What is este and how does it differ from esse and aquele?

este is a demonstrative adjective/pronoun used to point out something close to the speaker (“this”).

• esse points to something closer to the listener (“that”),
• aquele points to something distant from both speaker and listener (“that over there”).
  They all agree in gender and number with the noun they modify: for example, este problema, essa solução, aqueles exemplos.

Why is é used here instead of está?

Portuguese uses two verbs for “to be”: ser and estar.

• ser (here é) is for inherent or permanent qualities (“this problem is important”).
• estar is for temporary states or locations (“the door is open”, “she is tired”).
  Since importance is seen as an intrinsic property, é is the correct choice.

What role does para play in this sentence? Could I use a instead?

para introduces the beneficiary or the one affected by something: “important to/for us”.
In Brazilian Portuguese para is the default: importante para todos nós.
You can also say importante a todos nós, which is more formal or common in European Portuguese, but Brazilians usually prefer para.

Why is the adjective importante not importantes, and does it agree with problema?

Adjectives ending in –ante (like importante) have common gender and only change for number:

• singular: importante
• plural: importantes
  Here problema is singular, so the adjective stays importante. If you talked about multiple problems, you’d say problemas importantes.

Why is problema masculine even though it ends in –a?

Many Portuguese nouns ending in –ma come from Greek (e.g. o problema, o sistema, o poema) and are masculine despite ending in –a. You just have to memorize that pattern.

Why does é carry an accent and why is there an accent on nós?

• é has an acute accent to distinguish the verb ser (“he/she/it is”) from the conjunction e (“and”).
• nós carries an acute accent on the o to show stress and to differentiate it from the clitic pronoun nos (us, as a direct/indirect object).

Can I invert todos nós to nós todos? Does it change the meaning?

Both todos nós and nós todos are grammatically correct.

• todos nós is more common and neutral.
• nós todos puts a bit more emphasis on “we all” as the subject, but the basic meaning stays the same.

Can I drop nós and just say para todos?

para todos means “for everyone,” which technically includes the speaker if they’re part of that group, but it’s less explicit.
Use para todos nós when you want to stress you and I together.
If you simply want “for everyone” without emphasizing the speaker, para todos is fine.

Is it possible to start with Para todos nós instead of Este problema?

Yes. Fronting the prepositional phrase adds emphasis or a slight stylistic/formal tone:
“Para todos nós, este problema é importante.”
The meaning remains the same, but you highlight who is affected before introducing what is important.