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O trovão faz a criança chorar.

O trovão faz a criança chorar.
The thunder makes the child cry.
FromLesson 30inHardcore Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of O trovão faz a criança chorar.

a criança
the child
fazer
to make
chorar
to cry
o trovão
the thunder

Questions & Answers about O trovão faz a criança chorar.

Why is there a definite article before trovão?
In Portuguese we often use the definite article with abstract or generic nouns. Here, O trovão refers to thunder as a phenomenon in general. It’s like saying “Thunder makes the child cry,” but in Portuguese you include o.
Why is there a definite article before criança, instead of an indefinite one?
Portuguese frequently uses definite articles with singular nouns even when English would say “a child.” So a criança is literally “the child,” but in context it can just mean “a child.” If you really want “a child,” you could say uma criança, but it sounds less natural here.
Why is fazer used in this sentence? Could you use causar instead?
Fazer here establishes a causative construction: fazer alguém + infinitive means “to make someone do something.” So faz a criança chorar = “makes the child cry.” You could use causar (e.g. O trovão causa o choro da criança), but that’s more formal and shifts “crying” into a noun phrase.
Why is chorar in the infinitive form?
After fazer with a direct object, Portuguese requires the next verb to be in the infinitive. The pattern is fazer + object + infinitive (not a finite verb).
Can I change faz to fez or fará?
Absolutely. Fez a criança chorar (past) means “caused the child to cry,” and fará a criança chorar (future) means “will make the child cry.” The present faz here can express a habitual action or general truth.
How do I pronounce the ão in trovão?
The ão ending is a nasal diphthong, roughly like “ow̃” with a nasal resonance. Think of the English “town” but soften the final “n” and let the sound resonate in your nose.
Why is criança feminine? Does it stay feminine for a boy?
Yes. Criança is always feminine grammatically, regardless of whether the child is a girl or a boy. You always say a criança.
Could you say O trovão faz chorar a criança instead of faz a criança chorar?
No. In the causative structure fazer + object + infinitive, the object pronoun or noun must come directly after fazer. So faz a criança chorar is correct; faz chorar a criança is ungrammatical.
Can I add se and say O trovão faz-se a criança chorar?
No. Adding se would make fazer pronominal and change its meaning. The causative fazer is plain transitive here, so you don’t use se.
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