Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Brazil): É importante que o curso seja mais justo com os alunos. - It is important that the course be fairer with the students.

In English you often say should be or sometimes be in more formal style, and Portuguese uses the present subjunctive (seja) for this idea.

If you said:

É importante que o curso é mais justo... – grammatically incorrect in standard Portuguese.
É importante que o curso será mais justo... – also incorrect in this structure.

So é importante que is a typical trigger for the subjunctive, and the correct form of ser here is seja.

What exactly is seja (tense and mood), and how is it formed from ser?

Seja is the present subjunctive of the verb ser.

The present subjunctive of ser is irregular:

eu seja
tu sejas
ele / ela / você seja
nós sejamos
vocês / eles / elas sejam

It is used after structures that express wishes, doubts, opinions, necessity, emotion, possibility, etc., like:

É importante que...
É possível que...
Espero que...
Tomara que...

So in que o curso seja mais justo, seja is the third person singular present subjunctive form of ser.

Why do we need que in É importante que o curso seja mais justo com os alunos?

Que introduces a subordinate clause: que o curso seja mais justo com os alunos.

The structure is:

É importante → main clause, impersonal opinion
que o curso seja mais justo com os alunos → subordinate clause, what is important

In Portuguese, after impersonal expressions like é importante, é bom, é necessário, é possível, you almost always use que + subjunctive when there is an explicit subject:

É importante que ele chegue cedo.
É necessário que vocês estudem.

Without que, the sentence would be incomplete or feel wrong:

É importante o curso seja mais justo... – not correct.

So que links the idea and opens the clause where you use the subjunctive (seja).

Could I say É importante o curso ser mais justo com os alunos instead? What changes?

You can say É importante o curso ser mais justo com os alunos, and it is grammatically acceptable, but the nuance changes slightly.

É importante que o curso seja mais justo...
– More formal and more clearly expressing a desired or recommended situation, using the subjunctive. Very typical and natural.
É importante o curso ser mais justo...
– Here o curso ser mais justo is an infinitive clause functioning as a noun phrase. This sounds a bit more neutral and descriptive, similar to saying in English:
- It is important for the course to be fairer...

Both are correct in Brazilian Portuguese, but the que + subjunctive version is more standard and common in this kind of opinion statement, especially in careful speech or writing.

Why is it justo and not justa?

In Portuguese, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they refer to.

o curso → masculine singular
therefore: justo → masculine singular adjective

If the noun were feminine, it would change:

a disciplina é justa
a prova é justa

So mais justo matches o curso. Using justa here would be incorrect because curso is masculine.

Could this ever be mais justos in this sentence?

Not with o curso as the subject.

o curso → singular
adjective must also be singular: mais justo

You would use mais justos only if the subject were plural, for example:

É importante que os cursos sejam mais justos com os alunos.

Here:

os cursos → plural
sejam (plural)
justos (plural)

Why is it com os alunos and not para os alunos?

Both are possible, but they have slightly different nuances.

com os alunos
- Literally: with the students
- Common when talking about how someone treats someone else.
- Implies fairness in the relationship or interaction with the students.
- Natural in contexts like: ser justo com alguém (to be fair to someone).
para os alunos
- Literally: for the students
- Focuses more on benefit or effect: something that is good or fair for them as a result.
- Sounds more like: It is important that the course be fair for the students’ sake.

In this sentence, com os alunos fits well because we are probably talking about how the course behaves or operates in relation to the students, i.e., being fair with them.

Could I omit os and say com alunos?

You could say com alunos, but the meaning changes slightly.

com os alunos
- Refers to a specific, known group: the students of that course, those you and the listener have in mind.
- More natural in this kind of sentence.
com alunos
- More general, like with students (in general), not a specific group.
- Could sound like a more generic statement about how the course treats students as a category.

In most realistic contexts about a specific course, com os alunos will be the better choice.

Can I change the word order and say É importante que seja o curso mais justo com os alunos?

That word order is technically possible but sounds awkward and unnatural in everyday Brazilian Portuguese.

The normal, natural order is:

É importante que o curso seja mais justo com os alunos.

Portuguese generally keeps subject–verb–complements in that order, especially in modern Brazilian usage. Moving o curso after seja here creates an unusual emphasis and may sound literary or just odd.

So, stick with:

que o curso seja mais justo...

What is the difference between curso and aula here? Could I say a aula instead of o curso?

Curso and aula are different concepts:

curso
- A whole course / program (could last weeks, months, a semester, etc.).
- Includes multiple classes, assessments, and structure.
- o curso ser mais justo means the overall course (its rules, grading, structure) should be fairer.
aula
- A single class / lesson (one session or meeting).
- a aula ser mais justa would usually sound strange, because we do not normally describe a single lesson as fair or unfair. Fairness is more about procedures, grading, rules – things associated with a course.

So o curso is the natural choice in this sentence.

How would I say this in the past? Is Foi importante que o curso fosse mais justo com os alunos correct?

Yes, that is correct and sounds natural.

When the main verb goes to the past and the situation in the subordinate clause is also in the past (or seen from the past), you typically use the imperfect subjunctive:

Present: É importante que o curso seja mais justo... (present subjunctive seja)
Past: Foi importante que o curso fosse mais justo... (imperfect subjunctive fosse)

Pattern:

é importante que → seja
foi importante que → fosse

So Foi importante que o curso fosse mais justo com os alunos is fine when you are talking about a past circumstance that already finished.

In general, when do we use the subjunctive after expressions like é importante?

In Portuguese, the subjunctive is typically used after certain expressions that:

Express opinion or evaluation:
- É importante que...
- É bom que...
- É necessário que...
- É melhor que...
Express doubt, possibility, or probability:
- É possível que...
- É improvável que...
Express feelings or reactions:
- É uma pena que...
- Fico feliz que...

In all these cases, if you introduce a clause with que and have a subject, you normally use the subjunctive in that clause:

É necessário que os alunos estudem.
É possível que ele chegue tarde.

So É importante que o curso seja mais justo... fits this pattern exactly.

Could I say É importante ser mais justo com os alunos without que and without o curso? Is that different?

Yes, you can say:

É importante ser mais justo com os alunos.

Here, ser mais justo com os alunos is an infinitive phrase, and the subject is implicit or generic. It roughly means:

It is important to be fairer with the students.
It is important to treat students more fairly.

This sounds more general: it might refer to teachers in general, to people in charge of the course, or even to everyone dealing with students, depending on context.

In contrast:

É importante que o curso seja mais justo...
– Refers specifically to the course as an institution or structure needing to be fairer.

So both are correct, but the version with o curso clearly points to the course; the infinitive version is more generic.

How is justo pronounced in Brazilian Portuguese?

Justo is pronounced approximately like:

[ˈʒus.tu]

In more practical English terms:

The j is like the sound in measure or vision.
ju sounds like zhoo.
s here sounds like s (not like z).
The stress is on the first syllable: JUS-to.

How is curso pronounced in Brazilian Portuguese?

Curso is pronounced approximately like:

[ˈkuɾ.so] in many regions, or [ˈkus.su] in some accents.

Key points:

c before u is a hard k sound → ku
r after cu is the Brazilian single ɾ (a quick tap, similar to the American English tt in butter in many accents).
The s between vowels is usually an s sound in this word.
Stress is on the first syllable: CUR-so.