Breakdown of Nós fazemos pesquisa de mercado.
de
of
nós
we
o mercado
the market
fazer
to do
a pesquisa
the research
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Questions & Answers about Nós fazemos pesquisa de mercado.
Why is there no article before pesquisa in “Nós fazemos pesquisa de mercado”?
In Portuguese, when referring to an activity or field of study in a general, uncountable sense (like “research” in English), you typically omit the article. Here pesquisa means the process of researching, not a specific, one-off study. If you wanted to stress a single survey or study, you could say “Nós fazemos uma pesquisa de mercado.”
Why is pesquisa singular instead of plural (pesquisas) here?
Using the singular emphasizes the concept of market research as a whole. Plural (pesquisas de mercado) would imply several distinct surveys or projects. Both are correct; choose singular for the general activity, plural when you mean multiple separate studies.
What tense and person is fazemos, and how does it translate into English?
fazemos is the first-person plural (nós) present indicative of fazer (“to do/make”). It corresponds to “we do” or “we make.” So “Nós fazemos pesquisa de mercado” means “We do/conduct market research.”
Why use fazer pesquisa instead of simply pesquisar o mercado?
Both are possible. pesquisar o mercado (“to research the market”) uses pesquisar as a verb, focusing on the action. fazer pesquisa de mercado uses pesquisa as a noun, sounding more like a formal business expression (“to carry out market research”). In corporate contexts, you’ll often hear fazer pesquisa de mercado or realizar pesquisa de mercado.
Why is de used in pesquisa de mercado rather than another preposition?
de links the type of research to its object (“research of market”). It’s the standard way in Portuguese to form compound nouns indicating purpose or subject (similar to “-research” in English). Saying pesquisa sobre o mercado (“research about the market”) is also correct but slightly more verbose; pesquisa de mercado is the fixed, concise term.
Is the subject pronoun nós necessary here?
No, Portuguese is a pro-drop language: you can omit nós because the verb ending -emos already indicates “we.” “Fazemos pesquisa de mercado” is perfectly natural. Including nós adds emphasis or clarity (for contrast or formality).
Why does nós have an accent while the object pronoun nos does not?
The accent on nós (subject pronoun “we”) distinguishes it from nos (clitic object pronoun “us” or preposition + article). Without the accent, you couldn’t tell in writing whether it’s the subject “we” or the object “us.”
In Portugal, would people say pesquisa de mercado, or is there a more common term?
In European Portuguese, estudo de mercado is often preferred in business settings. pesquisa de mercado is understood (and very common in Brazilian Portuguese), but in Portugal you’ll frequently hear “fazer um estudo de mercado.”
How would you express “we are doing market research” in European Portuguese if you want to stress the ongoing action?
European Portuguese uses estar a + infinitive for continuous actions. You could say “Estamos a fazer pesquisa de mercado” or “Estamos a fazer um estudo de mercado.” This conveys “we are doing market research” right now.