Breakdown of Eu prefiro que tu votes em quem mostrar talento.
eu
I
tu
you
quem
who
em
in / on / at
preferir
to prefer
mostrar
to show
que
that (conjunction)
o talento
the talent
votar
to vote
Questions & Answers about Eu prefiro que tu votes em quem mostrar talento.
Why is mostrar in the Future Subjunctive instead of the present tense?
In this context, quem means "whoever". When we use relative words like quem (whoever), o que (whatever), or onde (wherever) to refer to an unknown person or situation in the future, Portuguese requires the Future Subjunctive. You are talking about a hypothetical person who might show talent, not a specific person showing it right now.
Wait, doesn't mostrar just look like the normal infinitive?
Yes! For all regular verbs, the Future Subjunctive form is identical to the personal infinitive. Because quem takes the third-person singular (he/she/it) conjugation, it looks exactly like the base infinitive mostrar. You would only see a spelling change if it were an irregular verb, such as quem tiver talento (whoever has talent).
Why is it votes and not votas?
votes is in the Present Subjunctive. The phrase Eu prefiro que... (I prefer that...) expresses a strong desire or preference. Verbs of desire, emotion, or doubt always trigger the subjunctive in the clause that follows them.
Why do we use the preposition em right before quem? Doesn't em mean "in"?
While em often translates to "in" or "on", it is also the mandatory preposition for the verb votar. In English you "vote for" someone, but in Portuguese you say votar em someone. Because you are voting for "whoever" (quem), the required em must go right before it.
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