Breakdown of O fato do astronauta é desenhado para o proteger e ajudá‑lo a sobreviver no espaço.
Questions & Answers about O fato do astronauta é desenhado para o proteger e ajudá‑lo a sobreviver no espaço.
In European Portuguese, fato in this sentence means suit, specifically spacesuit (the astronaut’s suit).
- fato (EP) = suit (business suit, costume, or here, an astronaut’s suit)
- facto (EP) = fact
So O fato do astronauta = the astronaut’s suit, not the astronaut’s fact.
Note: In Brazilian Portuguese, fato usually means fact, and they don’t use fato for suit (they’d say terno for a normal suit, and something like roupa espacial or traje espacial for a spacesuit). But you’re learning European Portuguese, where fato = suit.
do is a contraction of de + o:
- de = of / from
- o = the (masculine singular)
So:
o fato do astronauta = the suit of the astronaut = the astronaut’s suit.
This contraction happens very often:
- de + o → do
- de + a → da
- de + os → dos
- de + as → das
Both are possible, but they mean slightly different things:
o fato do astronauta
- Literally: the suit of the astronaut
- Implies a specific astronaut: that astronaut’s suit
o fato de astronauta
- More like: an astronaut suit / a suit for an astronaut
- Generic: the kind of suit astronauts wear, not belonging to one specific person
In your sentence, do astronauta makes us imagine the suit that belongs to one particular astronaut. If the text were speaking more generally about spacesuits as a type of suit, o fato de astronauta would be very natural.
Both are grammatical, but they say different things:
é desenhado = is designed (present passive)
- Describes a general, timeless property.
- Focuses on how the suit is by nature / by design.
- Similar to English: “The astronaut’s suit is designed to…”
foi desenhado = was designed (past passive)
- Emphasises the past act of designing.
- Similar to English: “The astronaut’s suit was designed to…”
In explanatory or scientific-style texts, Portuguese often prefers the present passive (é desenhado) to talk about what something is like in general.
The past participle desenhado agrees in gender and number with the subject of the passive verb:
- Subject: o fato → masculine singular
- So we use: é desenhado (masc. sing.)
If the noun were feminine, it would change:
- a roupa é desenhada (the clothing is designed)
- as roupas são desenhadas (the clothes are designed)
para proteger = to protect (no object stated).
para o proteger = to protect him (or to protect it, referring to a masculine noun).
Here, o is a direct object pronoun, corresponding to ele (him) or to o fato (it), depending on context. In this sentence, it’s most naturally to protect him (the astronaut).
In European Portuguese, using these little object pronouns (o, a, os, as, lhe, etc.) is very standard and natural, especially in written language.
Roughly:
- para proteger o astronauta = to protect the astronaut (full noun)
- para o proteger = to protect him (replace the noun with a pronoun)
You’ve spotted something subtle. Grammatically, both para o proteger and para ajudá‑lo are individually correct, but mixing the two styles in one coordinated structure is usually avoided in careful writing.
More natural options would be either:
Both pronouns before the verbs (proclisis):
- …para o proteger e o ajudar a sobreviver no espaço.
Both pronouns attached after the infinitives (enclisis):
- …para protegê‑lo e ajudá‑lo a sobreviver no espaço.
So yes, para o proteger e ajudá‑lo might appear in real-world usage, but if you’re aiming for clear, consistent European Portuguese, pick one pattern and keep it:
- o proteger e o ajudar
- protegê‑lo e ajudá‑lo
Several rules come together here:
Object pronoun attachment
With an infinitive like ajudar, you can attach the pronoun to the verb:- ajudar + o → ajudá‑lo
Change from ‑o to ‑lo
When o / a / os / as attach to a verb that ends in ‑r, ‑s, or ‑z, we:- drop the final r / s / z
- and use ‑lo / ‑la / ‑los / ‑las
So:
- ajudar + o → ajudá‑lo
- fazer + o → fazê‑lo
- dizer + o → dizê‑lo
Adding an accent
When we drop the final r and add the pronoun, we put an acute accent to keep the stress on the same syllable:- a‑ju‑DAR → a‑ju‑DÁ‑lo
So ajudá‑lo is the correct, standard written form.
In Portuguese, ele / ela / eles / elas are normally subject pronouns (he, she, they) or stressed object pronouns (after prepositions):
- Ele protege o astronauta. – He protects the astronaut.
- Falo com ele. – I speak with him.
But for direct objects of verbs (him/her/it/them) in normal clause position, Portuguese prefers clitic pronouns:
- protegê‑lo – to protect him / it
- vê‑la – to see her / it
- encontrá‑los – to find them
So in your sentence:
- para o proteger / para protegê‑lo
- means to protect him (or it, depending on context)
- ele would not be used in that position in standard European Portuguese.
no is a contraction of em + o:
- em + o → no
- em + a → na, etc.
So no espaço literally = in the space.
In Portuguese, even with abstract or general nouns, the definite article (o / a / os / as) is used more often than in English. For outer space, Portuguese normally says o espaço, with the article:
- sobreviver no espaço – survive in space
- viajar pelo espaço – travel through space
You could technically see em espaço in other contexts (e.g. em espaço confinado – in a confined space), but for the cosmic space, it’s practically always o espaço → no espaço.
Yes: astronauta is one of those nouns that can be masculine or feminine depending on the person, but its form ends in ‑a in both cases:
- o astronauta – the (male) astronaut
- a astronauta – the (female) astronaut
So in your sentence, do astronauta tells you it’s masculine here (de + o astronauta). The word shape stays astronauta; only the article and any adjectives show the gender.