Breakdown of O diretor quer ressaltar a importância de chegarmos pontualmente às reuniões.
de
of
querer
to want
chegar
to arrive
a reunião
the meeting
o diretor
the director
ressaltar
to highlight
a importância
the importance
pontualmente
punctually
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Questions & Answers about O diretor quer ressaltar a importância de chegarmos pontualmente às reuniões.
What does the phrase quer ressaltar mean in English?
It translates as wants to emphasize. In this sentence, quer (from querer, “to want”) is used in the present tense, and it is followed by the infinitive ressaltar (“to emphasize” or “to highlight”), which is a common structure in Portuguese to express a desire to point out something important.
Why is chegarmos in the subjunctive mood instead of using the infinitive form chegar?
Because the subordinate clause refers to an action with a different subject (“we”) than the main clause (“the director”), Portuguese typically uses the subjunctive to indicate a desired or potential action. Chegarmos is the first-person plural present subjunctive form of chegar (“to arrive”), which properly conveys that the action is expected from “us” rather than the director.
How is the contraction às formed in às reuniões, and what does it indicate?
The contraction às comes from the preposition a (“to”) combining with the feminine plural definite article as (“the”) that accompanies reuniões (“meetings”). This contraction is mandatory in Portuguese when the preposition meets the article and it signals that the sentence refers to specific meetings.
What is the purpose of the preposition de in de chegarmos pontualmente às reuniões?
The preposition de links the noun phrase a importância (“the importance”) with its subordinate clause chegarmos pontualmente às reuniões (“that we arrive punctually at the meetings”). It functions much like the English word “of,” connecting an abstract concept (importance) to the specific action that follows.
Why does the sentence use chegarmos (meaning “we arrive”) even though the main subject is O diretor (“the director”)?
Although O diretor is the subject of the main clause expressing his desire, the subordinate clause describes an action undertaken by a different subject — “we.” In Portuguese, when the subjects differ, the verb in the subordinate clause is conjugated to reflect its own subject. Thus, chegarmos (first-person plural in the subjunctive mood) appropriately indicates that the expected action (arriving punctually) is to be performed by “us.”