Falta uma vírgula nesta frase, e também um acento naquela palavra.

This sentence is missing a comma, and that word is missing an accent mark too.

Breakdown of Falta uma vírgula nesta frase, e também um acento naquela palavra.

• uma: a
• e: and
• também: also
• um: an

Questions & Answers about Falta uma vírgula nesta frase, e também um acento naquela palavra.

Why does the sentence start with falta?

Here falta comes from the verb faltar, which often means to be missing or to be lacking.

So Falta uma vírgula is literally something like A comma is missing. In natural English, we usually say There is a comma missing.

Portuguese often uses this pattern:

• Falta um documento. = A document is missing.
• Faltam duas páginas. = Two pages are missing.

So starting with the verb is completely normal.

What is the subject of falta in this sentence?

The subject is uma vírgula.

That can feel strange to an English speaker, because in English we often use there is/there are. But in Portuguese, the noun itself is the subject, even if it comes after the verb.

So:

• Falta uma vírgula
  subject = uma vírgula

• Faltam duas vírgulas
  subject = duas vírgulas

Portuguese allows this verb + subject order very naturally with verbs like faltar.

Why is it falta and not faltam, since the sentence mentions two missing things?