Breakdown of Eles veem o farol, apesar de as correntes serem fortes.
ser
to be
eles
they (m)
ver
to see
forte
strong
apesar de
despite
o farol
the lighthouse
a corrente
the current
Questions & Answers about Eles veem o farol, apesar de as correntes serem fortes.
Why do we use serem here instead of the normal present tense são?
The phrase apesar de (despite) ends with a preposition (de). In Portuguese, verbs that follow prepositions must usually be in the infinitive form, not a standard conjugated tense like the present. However, because we need to show what is being strong (the currents), we use the personal infinitive serem (to be - they).
Why do we use the personal infinitive serem instead of just the normal infinitive ser?
We use the personal infinitive because the subject changes in the middle of the sentence. The subject of the first half is Eles (They see), but the subject of the second half is as correntes (the currents). To clearly show that the action of "being strong" belongs to the plural currents and not the people looking at the lighthouse, we must conjugate the infinitive to the plural form serem.
Why doesn't de combine with as to make das? Shouldn't it be "apesar das correntes"?
This is a very important rule for the personal infinitive! When a preposition (like de) comes right before the subject of an infinitive verb (like as correntes), you are not allowed to contract them. Contracting them would "trap" the subject inside the preposition. Therefore, they must stay separated as de as.
I often see the word for "they see" spelled as vêem. Is veem without the accent a typo?
No, veem is perfectly correct! Before the 1990 spelling reform, it was indeed spelled vêem. The reform removed the circumflex accent from plural verbs ending in "-eem", so nowadays it is written veem. Be careful not to confuse it with vêm (they come), which is from the verb vir and still keeps its accent.
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