Breakdown of Uma costura fraca pode deixar o frio entrar.
poder
can
uma
a
o frio
the cold
fraco
weak
a costura
the seam
deixar entrar
to let in
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Questions & Answers about Uma costura fraca pode deixar o frio entrar.
What does costura mean in this sentence?
Costura means seam or stitch — the line or series of stitches that holds two pieces of fabric together.
Why is the adjective fraca used here? Why not fraco?
Because adjectives in Portuguese agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. Costura is feminine singular, so the adjective takes the feminine form fraca.
Why is there an indefinite article uma at the beginning? Can't we just say Costura fraca pode deixar o frio entrar?
In Portuguese, singular countable nouns used in a general statement typically need an article. English often drops the article — Weak stitching can let the cold in — but Portuguese requires uma costura. To avoid an article, you could use the plural: Costuras fracas podem deixar o frio entrar.
Why is pode followed by deixar here? What does that construction mean?
Here pode is the third-person singular of poder (to be able to), which expresses possibility. It’s followed by another verb in the infinitive (deixar), forming a modal construction that means “can let” or “may allow.”
Why is the verb entrar not preceded by a preposition like em?
When deixar is used with a direct object (o frio) and an infinitive (entrar), the object is allowed to perform the action directly. Entrar is intransitive here, so no preposition is needed unless you specify a location (for example, entrar na sala).
Why is o frio used with the definite article o? Can't we say just frio?
In Portuguese, abstract or general phenomena such as cold, heat, wind, etc., typically take the definite article. So you say o frio, o calor, o vento when referring to temperature or weather in general.