Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): O processo de candidatura é severo, mas justo para todos. - The application process is strict but fair for everyone.

So O processo de candidatura is the natural, standard way to say “the application process” or “the application procedure” in a full sentence.

If you drop the O, Processo de candidatura é severo… sounds like a headline, a note, or very telegraphic speech, not like normal spoken or written Portuguese. So:

Normal sentence: O processo de candidatura é severo…
Title / heading style: Processo de candidatura severo, mas justo

Why are the adjectives severo and justo masculine? Shouldn’t they maybe agree with candidatura, which is feminine?

Adjectives agree with the main noun of the subject, not with a noun inside a prepositional phrase.

Subject: O processo de candidatura
- Head noun: processo (masculine, singular)
- Complement: de candidatura (“of application”), with candidatura feminine

Because processo is masculine singular, the adjectives must be masculine singular:

O processo de candidatura é severo, mas justo…

If candidatura were the subject, you’d see feminine forms:

A candidatura é severa, mas justa para todos.
(“The application / candidacy is strict but fair for everyone.”)

Why is it de candidatura and not da candidatura or para candidatura?

de candidatura works like “of application” in English and is very common in set expressions:

processo de candidatura – application process
processo de seleção – selection process
processo de admissão – admission process

de here links two nouns in a general, classifying way.

If you said da candidatura (de + a = da), it would mean “of the application”, referring to one specific application already known in the context. For example:

Os resultados da candidatura foram positivos.
“The results of the application were positive.”

para candidatura would mean “for (the) application”, focusing on purpose rather than that fixed “X process” expression. Something like:

Reunir documentos para candidatura – “to gather documents for application”

But the natural collocation for “application process” is processo de candidatura, not processo para candidatura.

Why is it é and not está? What’s the nuance of using ser here?

ser (é) is used for characteristics that are seen as inherent, usual, or defining:

O processo de candidatura é severo, mas justo.
“The application process is (by nature) strict but fair.”

This describes how the process normally is.

Using estar (está severo) would suggest a temporary or exceptional state, like “this time it’s strict / has become strict,” and it would sound odd in this context. You might use estar with something like:

Este ano o processo de candidatura está mais severo.
“This year the application process is stricter.”

So here é is the correct choice because we’re describing a general characteristic of the process.

What exactly does severo mean here? Is it the same as “strict” or “harsh”? Are there alternatives?

In this context, severo means strict / harsh / severe in the sense of demanding, tough, or not lenient.

Nuance compared with similar adjectives:

severo – serious and strict, can sound a bit harsh, especially with people (um professor severo).
rigoroso – rigorous, very thorough and demanding, but often with a more neutral or positive tone (careful, precise).
estrito – strict, close to English “strict”, often used with rules: regras estritas.

In this sentence, severo, mas justo implies:

the criteria are tough (severo),
but still fair and impartial (justo).

You could also say:

O processo de candidatura é rigoroso, mas justo para todos.
This sounds slightly less “harsh” and more like “thorough, exacting, but fair.”

Why is mas used here? Could I use porém, contudo, or no entanto instead?

mas is the default, everyday word for “but” and is perfect here:

O processo de candidatura é severo, mas justo para todos.

You can replace it with other contrast words, but they change the style a bit:

porém, contudo, no entanto – all roughly “however / nevertheless”, more formal or written, and usually come after a pause/comma:
- O processo de candidatura é severo; porém, é justo para todos.
- O processo de candidatura é severo; no entanto, é justo para todos.

In normal spoken Portuguese, mas is far more common than those options.

Can I change the word order, like O processo de candidatura é justo, mas severo para todos or put adjectives before the noun?

Yes, you can change the order, but it affects emphasis and naturalness.

Swapping the adjectives after é:
- O processo de candidatura é justo, mas severo para todos.
- Here the speaker highlights fairness first, then contrasts it with the severity.
- Meaning is very close, just a small rhetorical difference.
Moving adjectives around the sentence:
- O processo de candidatura é severo, mas para todos justo.
  – Grammatically possible, but this sounds poetic or very marked; not natural in normal speech.
Putting adjectives before the noun:
- É um severo processo de candidatura.
- Adjectives before the noun often add emphasis or subjectivity (“a truly strict process”), and sound more literary or formal in many cases.

The original sentence:

O processo de candidatura é severo, mas justo para todos.

is the most neutral and natural-sounding order.

What does para todos express exactly? Could I say para toda a gente or para todos os candidatos instead?

para todos here means “for everyone” in the sense of it applies equally to everyone / it treats everyone the same.

Some alternatives and nuances:

para toda a gente – also “for everyone,” slightly more colloquial:
- …mas justo para toda a gente.
para todos os candidatos – “for all (the) applicants/candidates,” more specific, explicitly referring to the people applying:
- …mas justo para todos os candidatos.

Other prepositions would change the meaning:

com todos – “with everyone,” focusing on how the process deals with people:
- O processo é justo com todos. (It treats everyone fairly.)
a todos – normally used with verbs like dar, oferecer, explicar (give to, offer to, explain to), not natural directly after justo in this sense.

So justo para todos is a concise way to say “fair to everyone / fair for everyone.”

In para todos, what is todos exactly? An adjective? Why doesn’t it have a noun after it?

Here todos is a pronoun, not an adjective.

As an adjective it would be followed by a noun:
- todos os candidatos – all the candidates
- todos os alunos – all the students
As a pronoun, todos stands alone and means “everyone / everybody”:
- para todos – for everyone
- Conheço todos. – I know everyone.

In the sentence:

…mas justo para todos.

todos = todos (eles) = “all of them / everyone,” and Portuguese is happy to leave the noun understood from context.

How do I pronounce the tricky parts of this sentence, especially candidatura and justo, in European Portuguese?

Approximate European Portuguese pronunciation (stressed syllables in capitals):

O – like “oo” in “food”, short: [u]
processo – proh-SEH-soo: [pɾuˈsɛsu]
de – weak “dɨ”: [dɨ]
candidatura – can-dee-da-TOO-ra: [kɐ̃dɨdɐˈtuɾɐ]
é – like “eh”: [ɛ]
severo – sɨ-VEH-ru: [sɨˈvɛɾu]
mas – “mush” without the “h”: [mɐʃ]
justo – sounds like “ZHOOSH-too” (but with a short “oo” at the end): [ˈʒuʃtu]
- j = [ʒ], like the “s” in French “vision”.
- s before t becomes [ʃ], like English “sh”.
para – PA-ra, often very reduced in fast speech: [ˈpaɾɐ] or [pɾɐ]
todos – TOH-doosh: [ˈtodʊʃ] (final s as [ʃ] in European Portuguese)

Spoken smoothly in European Portuguese, the sentence sounds roughly like:

[u pɾuˈsɛsu dɨ kɐ̃dɨdɐˈtuɾɐ ɛ sɨˈvɛɾu, mɐʃ ˈʒuʃtu pɾɐ ˈtodʊʃ]