Breakdown of Este ano há uma eleição importante para o governo local.
Questions & Answers about Este ano há uma eleição importante para o governo local.
In European Portuguese, há (from the verb haver) is the standard way to say “there is / there are” in neutral, correct speech:
- Há uma eleição importante… = There is an important election…
Haver in this existential sense is:
- Impersonal: it only appears in the 3rd person singular (há in the present), even if the thing that exists is plural:
- Há uma eleição. = There is an election.
- Há muitas eleições. = There are many elections.
- More neutral/formal than tem for “there is/are”.
In speech, especially in Brazil, people often use tem to mean “there is/are”, but for European Portuguese learners it’s safer to stick to há for this meaning, especially in writing and formal contexts.
É means “is” (from ser), not “there is”, so you can’t use é in this sentence.
há (with accent) = form of the verb haver
- Here it means “there is / there are”.
- It can also mean “ago” in time expressions:
- Há dois anos = two years ago.
a (without accent) = usually a preposition meaning:
- to: Vou a Lisboa. = I’m going to Lisbon.
- at: Cheguei às oito. = I arrived at eight.
- from in some fixed expressions.
So in Este ano há uma eleição…, you must have the accent, otherwise the sentence becomes incorrect.
Because eleição is a feminine noun in Portuguese.
- Feminine indefinite article: uma
- Masculine indefinite article: um
Examples:
- uma eleição (an election) – feminine
- um governo (a government) – masculine
You can see the gender from:
- The ending -ção: many nouns ending in -ção are feminine (eleição, nação, informação, situação, decisão, etc.).
- The article used with the word in dictionaries or examples.
No, that would sound wrong in Portuguese.
In this kind of sentence you normally need an article or another determiner:
- Há uma eleição importante. ✅ (There is an important election.)
- Há eleições importantes. ✅ (There are important elections.)
- Há a eleição importante. ❌ (Almost never natural; would sound odd.)
- Há eleição importante. ❌ (Unnatural; feels incomplete.)
Portuguese usually does not drop articles the way English sometimes can. When in doubt, use the article.
The default position for most adjectives in Portuguese is after the noun:
- uma eleição importante = an important election
- um governo local = a local government
Importante can go before the noun:
- uma importante eleição
But:
- Adjective after the noun is the normal, neutral order.
- Adjective before the noun is more formal, literary, or emphatic.
Uma importante eleição sounds like something from a speech or a written article where the speaker wants to stress importance in a more elevated style.
For everyday speech, uma eleição importante is what you should use.
In informal spoken Portuguese, people do sometimes say:
- Este ano tem uma eleição importante.
However:
- In European Portuguese, há is the standard and safer choice for “there is/are”, especially in writing, news, and more formal speech:
- Este ano há uma eleição importante… ✅
- Tem as “there is/are” is much more associated with Brazilian Portuguese and informal speech.
As a learner of Portuguese from Portugal, prefer há in this structure.
Portuguese normally uses a definite article with singular countable nouns when you mean a specific thing or category:
- para o governo local = for the local government
Dropping the article:
- para governo local ❌ sounds incomplete or very unusual in normal speech.
The contracted form is:
- para + o = para o
(In fast speech, you might hear it reduced, but in writing you use para o.)
So:
- Use para o
- singular masculine noun.
- For a feminine noun: para a (e.g. para a câmara municipal).
In this sentence:
- para expresses purpose / destination / “for” in the sense of “towards a goal or role”:
- uma eleição importante para o governo local
= an important election for (to choose / affecting) the local government.
- uma eleição importante para o governo local
Por has other typical meanings:
- by / through / because of / for (in exchange):
- Fui por Lisboa. = I went through Lisbon.
- Foi eleito por 60% dos votos. = He was elected by 60% of the votes.
If you say:
- uma eleição importante por o governo local ❌ (and grammatically it would have to contract to pelo)
- pelo governo local would mean “by the local government” (as the agent), not “for the local government”.
So you need para o here, not por / pelo.
In Portuguese, most adjectives come after the noun, unlike English:
- English: local government
- Portuguese: governo local
More examples:
- big house → casa grande
- international company → empresa internacional
- public school → escola pública
Some adjectives can come before or after with a change in emphasis or meaning, but the default is: noun + adjective.
Both are grammatically correct and natural, but the focus changes slightly:
Este ano há uma eleição importante…
- Emphasizes the time frame first (“This year…”).
- Very natural, especially when comparing different years:
- Este ano há eleições, mas no ano passado não houve.
Há uma eleição importante este ano.
- Starts by stating the existence of the election, then adds “this year” as extra information.
In practice, both are fine in spoken and written Portuguese. Choose based on what you want to highlight first.
Yes, but in European Portuguese, Este ano is much more common and sounds more natural in everyday language.
- Este ano = “this year”
- Neste ano literally = “in this year”
You’ll see neste more when it’s clearly “in this [period]” with a nuance of “within”:
- Neste mês há muitas reuniões. = In this month there are many meetings.
- Neste ano letivo vamos ter novos professores. = In this school year we’ll have new teachers.
For the simple idea “this year”, prefer Este ano.