Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): A culpa nem sempre é clara, e o tribunal tenta controlar as emoções de toda a gente. - The blame is not always clear, and the court tries to control everyone’s emotions.

In Portuguese, saying a culpa sounds natural and general here; dropping the article (Culpa nem sempre é clara) sounds unusual and incomplete in this sentence.

What does nem mean in nem sempre? Why not just não sempre?

Nem here means “not” / “not even” in the sense of “not always”.

Common patterns:

nem sempre = not always
nem tudo = not everything
nem todos = not everyone / not all

Não sempre is not idiomatic in Portuguese; you almost always use nem sempre.
So:

✅ A culpa nem sempre é clara. = Guilt is not always clear.
❌ A culpa não sempre é clara. (unnatural)

Why is the word clara feminine, not claro?

Adjectives in Portuguese agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.

culpa is a feminine singular noun.
So the adjective must also be feminine singular: clara.

Patterns:

culpa clara (feminine singular)
erro claro (masculine singular)
culpas claras (feminine plural)
erros claros (masculine plural)

Why is it é clara and not está clara? What’s the difference?

Both é clara and está clara are possible, but they have different nuances.

é clara (with ser) is used for:
- general truths,
- typical characteristics,
- more permanent or defining descriptions.
A culpa nem sempre é clara.
→ “Guilt is not always clear” (as a general fact about how guilt is).
está clara (with estar) would focus more on a current / temporary state:
- A culpa não está clara neste caso.
  → “The guilt is not clear in this case (right now).”

In your sentence, we’re talking about how guilt is in general, so é clara is the natural choice.

Can the word order be changed? Why nem sempre é clara and not é nem sempre clara?

The natural, idiomatic order is:

A culpa nem sempre é clara.

Placing nem sempre before the verb is the standard way to say “not always” about a state or action.

Options like:

A culpa é nem sempre clara.
sound wrong or at least very unnatural in Portuguese. The sequence é nem sempre is not used in standard speech.

So, stick with: [subject] + nem sempre + [verb] + [rest].

Why is there a comma before e in ..., e o tribunal tenta...?

In Portuguese, it is more common than in English to put a comma before e when:

you are joining two full clauses (each with its own subject and verb), and
there is a slight pause or change of focus.

Here we have two clauses:

A culpa nem sempre é clara
o tribunal tenta controlar as emoções de toda a gente

So writing:

A culpa nem sempre é clara, e o tribunal tenta controlar...
is perfectly normal in Portuguese punctuation.

In English we would usually write:

“Guilt is not always clear and the court tries to control everyone’s emotions.”
(without the comma).

Why do we say o tribunal with the article o? Could we just say tribunal?

In Portuguese, institutions and places are usually used with the definite article when we talk about them in a general or specific way:

o tribunal = the court
a escola = the school
o governo = the government

So:

o tribunal tenta controlar...
→ “the court tries to control...”

Dropping the article (tribunal tenta controlar...) sounds unnatural in this sentence, unless it’s part of a newspaper headline or a very telegraphic style.

What tense is tenta, and what does it imply?

Tenta is the 3rd person singular present tense of tentar (to try).

o tribunal tenta = the court tries / is trying

In Portuguese, the simple present is often used for:

general, habitual actions:
- O tribunal tenta controlar as emoções...
  → “The court tries to control people’s emotions” (this is what it normally does).

If you needed to stress something happening right now, you could use the continuous:

O tribunal está a tentar controlar... = “The court is trying to control...”

What does toda a gente mean? Is it the same as “everybody”?

Yes. Toda a gente means “everybody / everyone”.

Important points:

Very common in European Portuguese.
Grammatically, gente is singular and feminine, even though it means many people.

Synonyms (with slightly different feel):

toda a gente – very common, informal–neutral
todas as pessoas – more literal, “all the people”
toda a população – “the whole population” (more specific)

In this sentence, as emoções de toda a gente = “everyone’s emotions”.

Why is it de toda a gente and not de todos or de toda gente?

De toda a gente is the normal, idiomatic way to say “of everybody / everyone’s”.

de toda a gente = of everybody
de todos = of all (people/things), but you usually need a noun:
- de todas as pessoas (of all the people)
toda gente without the article (a) is much less standard; the usual form is toda a gente.

So:

✅ as emoções de toda a gente (everyone’s emotions)
✅ as emoções de todas as pessoas (more literal)
❌ as emoções de toda gente (non‑standard / sounds off in EP).

If toda a gente means many people, does it take a singular or plural verb?

It takes a singular verb, because gente is grammatically singular.

Toda a gente está nervosa. = Everybody is nervous.
Toda a gente sabe disso. = Everybody knows that.

So if toda a gente were the subject:

Toda a gente tenta controlar as emoções.
→ Everybody tries to control their emotions.

Even though the meaning is plural, the grammar is singular.

Why are emoções in the plural? Could we say controlar a emoção instead?

Emoções is plural because we’re talking about the various emotions that people feel: fear, anger, sadness, etc.

controlar as emoções de toda a gente
→ control everyone’s emotions (all the different feelings).

If you said controlar a emoção de toda a gente, it would sound more abstract or unusual, as if there were one single emotion. The plural is the natural choice in everyday language here.