Breakdown of Se alguém está desempregado, nem sempre é fácil encontrar um novo emprego rapidamente.
ser
to be
um
a
estar
to be
novo
new
encontrar
to find
se
if
fácil
easy
rapidamente
quickly
alguém
someone
o emprego
the job
desempregado
unemployed
nem sempre
not always
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Questions & Answers about Se alguém está desempregado, nem sempre é fácil encontrar um novo emprego rapidamente.
What does nem sempre mean in this sentence, and how is it different from simply saying sempre?
Nem sempre translates to "not always." It emphasizes that while finding a new job quickly might be possible sometimes, it is not guaranteed in every situation. This contrasts with sempre ("always"), which would imply certainty.
What is the grammatical role of the comma after se alguém está desempregado, and how does it affect the sentence structure?
The comma separates the conditional clause se alguém está desempregado ("if someone is unemployed") from the main clause. This punctuation clarifies that the condition is being set up before presenting the general statement that follows, much like in English.
Why is the verb encontrar in its infinitive form in the phrase é fácil encontrar um novo emprego rapidamente?
In Portuguese, when using impersonal expressions such as é fácil ("it is easy"), the verb that follows is typically in the infinitive form. This construction parallels the English structure "it is easy to find a new job" where the action remains general.
Why is the adverb rapidamente placed at the end of the sentence, and what does its position imply?
Adverbs like rapidamente (“quickly”) are commonly positioned at the end of a sentence in Portuguese to modify the preceding verb phrase. Placing it at the end emphasizes the manner in which the action (finding a new job) might occur, aligning with standard syntactic patterns.
What is the significance of using the indefinite article um in um novo emprego?
The use of um corresponds to the English "a" and indicates that the reference is to any new job in a general sense, not a specific one. This generalization underscores the idea that the difficulty lies in finding any new job quickly when unemployed.