Breakdown of A avaria e o prejuízo são grandes.
Questions & Answers about A avaria e o prejuízo são grandes.
Why is the verb são plural here?
Because the subject is compound: A avaria e o prejuízo = two things joined by e (and).
In Portuguese, when two singular nouns are joined by e, the verb normally goes in the plural:
- A avaria e o prejuízo são grandes.
- O carro e a moto são novos.
So é would be wrong here in standard Portuguese, because that would be singular.
Why does the sentence use a before avaria and o before prejuízo?
Those are the definite articles in Portuguese:
So:
- a avaria
- o prejuízo
English uses just one word, the, but Portuguese articles change according to gender and number.
Why is the article repeated before both nouns? Why not just A avaria e prejuízo?
In Portuguese, it is very common and natural to repeat the article before each noun:
- A avaria e o prejuízo...
That sounds complete and standard.
You may sometimes hear article omission in certain contexts, but in a sentence like this, repeating the article is the most natural choice. For a learner, it is best to copy this pattern.
Why is grandes plural?
Because the adjective must agree with what it describes.
Here, grandes describes both nouns together:
- a avaria
- o prejuízo
Since the two nouns together form a plural idea, the adjective becomes plural:
- singular: grande
- plural: grandes
So:
- A avaria é grande.
- O prejuízo é grande.
- A avaria e o prejuízo são grandes.
Why is it grandes and not a different masculine or feminine plural form?
Some Portuguese adjectives have different masculine and feminine forms, but grande is one of the adjectives that has the same form for masculine and feminine in the singular:
- o problema grande
- a avaria grande
In the plural, it becomes:
- grandes
So with mixed gender nouns like a avaria + o prejuízo, the plural adjective is simply grandes.
What exactly does avaria mean?
What exactly does prejuízo mean?
Prejuízo usually means loss, especially a financial loss, damage, or harm.
Very often it suggests that someone suffered a negative consequence, especially in money or business terms.
So in this sentence, it likely refers to the loss caused by the damage/breakdown.
Are avaria and prejuízo basically the same thing?
Not exactly.
A simple way to see the difference:
- avaria = the damage/problem/breakdown itself
- prejuízo = the loss or negative consequence caused by it
For example, a machine may have an avaria, and that can cause a financial prejuízo.
So the sentence mentions both the physical/technical problem and the resulting loss.
Why is avaria feminine and prejuízo masculine?
Because Portuguese nouns have grammatical gender.
In this case:
- avaria is feminine → a avaria
- prejuízo is masculine → o prejuízo
Often nouns ending in -a are feminine and nouns ending in -o are masculine, though that is a pattern, not an absolute rule.
You generally need to learn the noun together with its article:
- a avaria
- o prejuízo
How do you pronounce avaria, prejuízo, and são in Brazilian Portuguese?
A simple pronunciation guide:
- avaria → ah-vah-REE-ah
- prejuízo → preh-joo-EE-zoo
- são → sounds roughly like sowng, with a nasal sound
A few helpful notes:
- In prejuízo, the accent mark shows the stress: -uí-
- são is nasal, so it does not sound like plain sao
- In Brazilian Portuguese, the r in avaria is usually a soft sound in this position
Can I say A avaria e o prejuízo é grande?
Can the word order be changed?
Yes, but the original order is the most neutral and natural.
Possible variation:
- Grandes são a avaria e o prejuízo.
This is grammatically possible, but it sounds more literary or emphatic.
For normal usage, the most straightforward order is:
- A avaria e o prejuízo são grandes.
Is this sentence formal?
Could grandes mean serious here, not just big?
Yes, very possibly.
In Portuguese, grande/grandes can mean not only big/large, but also serious, considerable, or significant, depending on context.
So in this sentence, são grandes may suggest:
- the damage is extensive
- the loss is considerable
- the situation is serious
That kind of broader meaning is very common.
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