Question 1

What is the purpose of adding é que to this sentence?

Accepted Answer

The phrase é que is an emphatic structure. It puts a strong spotlight on whatever comes right before it. Here, it emphasizes that you use the pliers (and not a screwdriver or a hammer) to take out the screw.

Question 2

How would this sentence look without the emphatic é que?

Accepted Answer

Without the emphasis, it would be a standard declarative sentence: Tu tiras o parafuso com o alicate (You take out the screw with the pliers). To use é que, we take the part we want to emphasize (Com o alicate) and move it to the very front of the sentence.

Question 3

In English, "pliers" is plural. Why is alicate singular in Portuguese?

Accepted Answer

Unlike English, which treats tools with two parts (like pliers, scissors, or glasses) as plural nouns, Portuguese typically uses the singular form for a single tool. So, one pair of pliers is simply o alicate. If you had multiple pairs of pliers, you would say os alicates.

Question 4

Why is the preposition Com placed at the very beginning of the sentence?

Accepted Answer

In English, you can sometimes leave a preposition stranded at the end of a sentence (like "The pliers are what you take the screw out with"). In Portuguese, this is strictly forbidden. Because we moved o alicate to the front for emphasis, its preposition Com had to travel to the front along with it.

Com o alicate é que tu tiras o parafuso.

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