Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Mesmo que o megafone falhe, a polícia ouve os cânticos da manifestação. - Even if the megaphone fails, the police hear the chants of the demonstration.

mesmo que and ainda que sound a bit stronger as “even if” (hypothetical or concessive).
embora is more often “although / even though” (conceding something that’s real or assumed true).

In this sentence, mesmo que is very natural because we’re talking about a possible failure of the megaphone.

Why is it falhe and not falha or falhar after mesmo que?

Because mesmo que requires the subjunctive mood.

The verb is falhar (to fail).
Present subjunctive, 3rd person singular: (que) ele/ela falhe.

So:

Mesmo que o megafone falhe = Even if the megaphone fails.

Using falha (present indicative) would be incorrect here:
✗ Mesmo que o megafone falha – ungrammatical in standard Portuguese.

Using the infinitive falhar is also wrong in this structure:
✗ Mesmo que o megafone falhar – ungrammatical.

Key point: after mesmo que, you normally use present or past subjunctive, never indicative or infinitive.

If this is about a future possibility, why is the verb falhe in the present subjunctive, not in a future tense?

Portuguese often uses the present subjunctive to talk about future possibilities after certain conjunctions, including mesmo que.

So:

Mesmo que o megafone falhe, ...
literally: Even if the megaphone fails,
but contextually it’s about a possible future failure.

You do not use the future subjunctive after mesmo que. The future subjunctive is used with conjunctions like se or quando:

Se o megafone falhar, a polícia ouve… – If the megaphone fails, the police hear…
Quando o megafone falhar, a polícia ouve… – When the megaphone fails, the police hear…

So:

With mesmo que → present subjunctive: falhe
With se / quando → often future subjunctive: falhar

Why is it a polícia ouve and not a polícia ouvem? In English we say “the police hear”.

In European Portuguese, a polícia (the police) is treated as grammatically singular, even though it refers to a group.

a polícia = singular noun, feminine
So the verb agrees in the 3rd person singular: ouve.

Examples:

A polícia chegou. – The police arrived.
A polícia ouve os cânticos. – The police hear the chants.

Using a plural verb is wrong in standard Portuguese:

✗ A polícia ouvem – incorrect.

English treats police as a plural noun in most dialects (the police are…), but Portuguese treats a polícia like “the police force / the police as an institution”, which is singular.

Is polícia always feminine? Can it also refer to a single police officer?

Polícia has two main uses:

The institution / force – normally feminine singular:
- a polícia – the police (force)
- Verb: singular → A polícia ouve…
A police officer – gender depends on the article:
- o polícia – a male police officer
- a polícia – a female police officer

In your sentence, a polícia ouve os cânticos clearly means “the police (as a group/institution) hear the chants”, not one individual officer. The verb still agrees with the grammatical number, so it’s singular: ouve.

Why do we say os cânticos rather than just cânticos? Is the article os necessary?

Os cânticos literally means “the chants”.

os = definite article, masculine plural
cânticos = chants, songs (in a particular context like protests, football, etc.)

Using os is natural here because we’re talking about specific chants: the chants of that protest.

A polícia ouve os cânticos da manifestação.
→ The police hear the chants of the demonstration.

Without the article:

A polícia ouve cânticos da manifestação.
Sounds like “police hear some chants from the demonstration”; more indefinite and less natural in this specific sentence.

In practice, Portuguese uses definite articles more often than English, especially with:

Specific, identifiable things
Groups that have been introduced or are clear from context

So os cânticos matches the English idea of “the chants” very well.

What is the difference between cânticos and words like canções, músicas, or gritos?

All of these refer to sounds people make, but with different nuances:

cânticos – chants, ritual or collective songs
- Very common for:
  - Protest chants
  - Football/sports chants
  - Religious chants (church, pilgrimages)
- Fits perfectly here: cânticos da manifestação = protest chants.
canções – songs (more musical, often with a melody and lyrics)
- canções de protesto = protest songs (like sung pieces, not just shouted chants).
músicas – songs / music tracks in a general sense
- música is broader: any kind of music, not specifically chanting.
gritos – shouts/screams
- gritos da manifestação would emphasize shouting, not organized chants.

So cânticos is the most precise word here for organized, repeated protest chants.

What does manifestação mean here? Is it the same as English “manifestation”?

In this context, manifestação means a public demonstration / protest.

os cânticos da manifestação = the chants of the demonstration / protest.

Important: in Portuguese, manifestação is very commonly used for political or social protests, marches, rallies, etc.

It can also mean “manifestation” in other senses (like a manifestation of symptoms), but in everyday news and conversation, manifestação almost always means “protest / demo”.

What is da in da manifestação? Why not just de a manifestação?

Da is the contraction of the preposition de + the feminine singular article a:

de + a = da

So:

os cânticos da manifestação
= os cânticos de a manifestação (uncontracted)
= the chants of the demonstration.

In standard Portuguese, you must use the contracted form:

✓ da manifestação – correct
✗ de a manifestação – incorrect in normal speech and writing.

Similar contractions:

do = de + o (masc. sing.)
dos = de + os (masc. pl.)
das = de + as (fem. pl.)

Can I move mesmo que o megafone falhe to the end of the sentence? Does the comma change?

Yes, you can move the clause; the meaning stays the same.

Original:

Mesmo que o megafone falhe, a polícia ouve os cânticos da manifestação.

Alternative word order:

A polícia ouve os cânticos da manifestação, mesmo que o megafone falhe.

Notes:

When the subordinate clause (mesmo que…) comes first, you must use a comma after it.
When it comes after the main clause, the comma is still recommended (and usual) because it introduces a concessive clause (similar to “even if” in English, which we would generally set off by a comma).

So both are correct, with the comma kept:

[Mesmo que…], [main clause].
[Main clause], [mesmo que…].

How do you pronounce ouve, cânticos, and manifestação in European Portuguese?

Approximate European Portuguese pronunciations (simplified):

ouve (he/she hears)
- IPA: /ˈov(ɨ)/
- Sounds roughly like: “OV-uh” (very short final vowel, almost like “ov” in English “of” but with v, not f).
cânticos (chants)
- IPA: /ˈkɐ̃.ti.kuʃ/
- cân-: kɐ̃ – the â is a central vowel, and ~ (tilde) makes it nasal.
- -ti-: ti like “chee” in European Portuguese (so more like “CHAN-chee-kush” very loosely).
- Final -cos: kuʃ – “koosh” with a short vowel, s = “sh” because it’s at the end of the word after a consonant.
manifestação (demonstration)
- IPA: /mɐ.nɨ.fɛʃ.tɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/
- Stress on the last syllable: -ção.
- ç = “s” sound.
- Final -ão: nasal diphthong, roughly like a nasalized “own” in English, but shorter and through the nose: “sãw̃”.

These are rough approximations; listening to native audio will help a lot, especially for the nasal vowels (â, ão) and the sh sound /ʃ/ in manifestação and cânticos.

Could we say Mesmo que o megafone não funcione instead of falhe? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can, and it’s perfectly correct:

Mesmo que o megafone não funcione, a polícia ouve os cânticos da manifestação.

Difference in nuance:

falhar – to fail, break down, not work as expected (often sudden or complete failure).
não funcionar – to not work / not function (more neutral, just stating it doesn’t work).

Both are fine here:

falhe is a bit more compact and direct.
não funcione emphasizes more literally “doesn’t function / doesn’t work”.

Why is the main verb ouve in the present tense? Could I say ouvirá (future)?

The present tense ouve can describe:

A general rule / repeated situation:
→ Even if the megaphone fails, the police (always) hear the chants.

If you want to stress a specific future event, you can also use the future:

Mesmo que o megafone falhe, a polícia ouvirá os cânticos da manifestação.
= Even if the megaphone fails, the police will hear the chants of the demonstration.

Both are grammatically correct; the choice depends on what you want to express:

ouve – habitual, general fact, or a narration in the “historic present”.
ouvirá – a more explicit future prediction about a particular event.