Word
O presidente garantir-lhes-ia o direito de combater a corrupção.
Meaning
The president would guarantee them the right to combat corruption.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of O presidente garantir-lhes-ia o direito de combater a corrupção.
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
a
to / at (direction)
o
him/it (m)
lhes
to them / to you (plural formal)
Questions & Answers about O presidente garantir-lhes-ia o direito de combater a corrupção.
Why is the pronoun lhes stuck right in the middle of the verb in garantir-lhes-ia?
This is called mesoclisis. In European Portuguese, when a verb is in the future or conditional tense (like garantiria, meaning "would guarantee") and there isn't a negative or "magnet" word pulling the pronoun to the front, the pronoun goes inside the verb. You take the infinitive (garantir), attach the pronoun (lhes), and then add the conditional ending (ia).
What exactly does lhes mean here, and why don't we use os?
lhes is an indirect object pronoun meaning "to them". The verb garantir (to guarantee) takes a direct object for the thing being guaranteed (o direito) and an indirect object for the people receiving the guarantee. We use lhes because the president is guaranteeing the right to them. If we used os, it would sound like the president is guaranteeing the people themselves.
Why do we need the preposition de in o direito de combater?
When a noun is followed by an infinitive verb to explain what that noun is about, Portuguese usually connects them with the preposition de. So, the English phrase "the right to combat" becomes o direito de combater.
Is there a more conversational way to say this without splitting the verb?