Breakdown of É essencial reservares um tempo para tratares de ti mesma.
ser
to be
um
a
para
to
o tempo
the time
essencial
essential
tratar de
to take care of
reservar
to set aside
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Questions & Answers about É essencial reservares um tempo para tratares de ti mesma.
Why are the verbs reservares and tratares conjugated differently from the basic infinitives reservar and tratar?
These verbs appear in the personal infinitive form, which is common in European Portuguese when the subject is implied—in this case, the informal tu. Instead of using the non-personal infinitive, the personal infinitive (with endings like -ares) is used after impersonal expressions such as É essencial to indicate that you are expected to do the action.
What does the phrase tratares de ti mesma mean, and why is it structured that way?
It means "to take care of yourself." The construction uses the fixed expression tratar de, which translates as "to take care of" or "to deal with." After the preposition de, the stressed pronoun ti is used (instead of the clitic te), and mesma is added to agree in gender with the subject (feminine in this case), emphasizing that the advice is intended for a woman.
Why is the stressed pronoun ti used rather than te in this context?
In Portuguese, when a pronoun follows a preposition such as de, the stressed form (ti) must be used rather than the clitic form (te). This rule ensures clarity and grammatical correctness in phrases like tratares de ti mesma.
How does this sentence demonstrate a key difference between European and Brazilian Portuguese?
This sentence is characteristic of European Portuguese because it uses the personal infinitive forms (reservares, tratares) and the pronoun ti suited to the informal tu form. In Brazilian Portuguese, speakers typically use the basic infinitive (e.g., reservar, cuidar) along with você and its corresponding pronouns (such as você mesma), reflecting a different approach to verb forms and pronoun usage.