Breakdown of Os diretores emocionam-se por receberem a estatueta que dedicam à família.
a família
the family
a
to / at (direction)
o diretor
the director
por
through / by / for / because of
receber
to receive
que
who / which / that (relative)
emocionar-se
to get emotional
a estatueta
the statuette
dedicar
to dedicate
Questions & Answers about Os diretores emocionam-se por receberem a estatueta que dedicam à família.
Why does the verb receber have an -em ending here?
This is the personal infinitive. When an infinitive follows a preposition like por, Portuguese often uses personal endings to show exactly who is doing the action. Because the directors (they) are the ones receiving the statuette, receber takes the third-person plural ending -em.
Why is por used before the verb instead of para?
In Portuguese, por combined with an infinitive is used to express the cause or reason for something. Using por receberem means they are emotional because they received the statuette. If you used para, it would mean they got emotional in order to receive it, which changes the meaning completely!
Could I just say porque recebem instead of por receberem?
Yes, you could say porque recebem (because they receive) and the meaning remains exactly the same. Using por with the personal infinitive is just a slightly more elegant and very common alternative for expressing a cause or reason in Portuguese.
Why is there a -se attached to emocionam?
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