Breakdown of Apesar de os marinheiros atirarem a âncora, o navio pode afundar.
poder
can / may (verb)
atirar
to throw
apesar de
despite
o navio
the ship
Questions & Answers about Apesar de os marinheiros atirarem a âncora, o navio pode afundar.
Why is it de os marinheiros instead of contracting it to dos marinheiros?
Normally, de and os combine to make dos. But there is a special rule here: when the noun phrase (os marinheiros) is the subject of the infinitive verb right after it (atirarem), you cannot contract the preposition with the subject's article. They must stay separate.
Why do we use the conjugated infinitive atirarem instead of the basic form atirar?
We use the personal (conjugated) infinitive because there is a change in subject. The subject of the first half is the sailors (os marinheiros), but the subject of the main clause is the ship (o navio). By conjugating to atirarem, we make it clear that "they" (the sailors) are the ones doing the throwing.
Could I use the subjunctive and say apesar de que os marinheiros atirem?
No, the phrase apesar de is followed by an infinitive (like atirarem), not a subjunctive. If you want to use the subjunctive to express "even though" or "despite", you need a different conjunction like embora, which would give you Embora os marinheiros atirem a âncora...
I've seen afundar used when someone sinks a ship. Can it also just mean a ship sinks on its own?
Yes, afundar works both ways. It can mean "to sink something" (an action done to an object) or "to go down" (an action happening to the subject, like the ship sinking in this sentence).