Breakdown of O líder combate a injustiça, mesmo que não tenha apoio.
não
not / no
ter
to have
o apoio
the support
combater
to combat
mesmo que
even if
o líder
the leader
a injustiça
the injustice
Questions & Answers about O líder combate a injustiça, mesmo que não tenha apoio.
Why do we use tenha instead of tem here?
tenha is the Present Subjunctive of ter (to have). The phrase mesmo que sets up a condition that doesn't stop the main action. In Portuguese, mesmo que always triggers the subjunctive, whether the lack of support is a hypothetical possibility ('even if') or an accepted fact ('even though').
In English we say 'fights injustice', so why is there an a before injustiça?
In English, we usually drop the article when talking about abstract concepts generally. But in Portuguese, abstract nouns and general concepts almost always require a definite article. Since injustiça is a feminine noun, it takes a.
Could I use embora instead of mesmo que in this sentence?
Yes, you could say embora não tenha apoio, as both phrases trigger the subjunctive. However, embora usually translates more closely to 'even though' (implying the lack of support is a known fact), while mesmo que leans more towards 'even if' (treating it as a hypothetical scenario).
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