Sem estratégia, nada funciona.

Sem estratégia, nada funciona.
Without strategy, nothing works.

Breakdown of Sem estratégia, nada funciona.

sem
without
nada
nothing
funcionar
to work
a estratégia
the strategy
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Questions & Answers about Sem estratégia, nada funciona.

What is the function of sem in Sem estratégia, nada funciona and how do you translate it into English?
sem is a preposition meaning “without.” In this sentence it introduces the idea of absence: “Without strategy, nothing works.”
Why is there no article before estratégia? Could we say sem uma estratégia or sem a estratégia instead?

Yes, sem can be followed by an article or numeral to specify.

  • sem a estratégia = without the strategy (a specific one)
  • sem uma estratégia = without a strategy (any single strategy)
    But in sem estratégia (no article) you talk about strategy in general—without (any) strategy—just like English omits “any” for a generic statement.
Why is nada followed by funciona in the affirmative instead of using não funciona?

Here, nada (“nothing”) is an indefinite pronoun that already carries negation, so the verb stays affirmative: nada funciona = “nothing works.”
If you used não funciona, you would need to reorder: não funciona nada (“nothing works”), but nada não funciona creates an unwanted double negative in Portuguese.

Why is there a comma between estratégia and nada? Is it mandatory?

The comma separates the initial prepositional phrase Sem estratégia from the main clause nada funciona. It’s not strictly mandatory but:
• Emphasizes the condition up front
• Improves clarity and pacing
Without it you’d still be correct (Sem estratégia nada funciona), but it feels more abrupt.

Could we invert the sentence to Nada funciona sem estratégia? Does that change the meaning?

Grammatically it’s fine and the overall meaning stays the same. The difference is in emphasis:

  • Sem estratégia, nada funciona focuses first on the lack of strategy.
  • Nada funciona sem estratégia highlights the failure before the condition.
Why is estratégia singular? Can we say sem estratégias?

Using the singular (estratégia) refers to the concept of strategy as a whole.
In the plural (sem estratégias) you’d be talking about several specific strategies. Both are possible, but plural shifts the nuance to “without multiple/various strategies.”

What part of speech is nada in this sentence?
In Sem estratégia, nada funciona, nada is an indefinite pronoun acting as the subject of the verb funciona, meaning “nothing.”
How do you pronounce estratégia and funciona in European Portuguese?

Approximate EP pronunciation (IPA → key):
• estratégia: /ɨʃ.tɾə.ˈtɛ.ʒɨ.ɐ/ → iʃ-trə-TEH-zhi-ə
• funciona: /fũ.si.ˈõ.nɐ/ → foon-see-OHN-uh