Breakdown of É difícil manter o abrigo cuja taxa de adoção é baixa.
ser
to be
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
difícil
difficult
baixo
short (in height) / low
a taxa
the fee
manter
to keep (maintain)
o abrigo
the shelter
cujo
whose (agrees with the following noun)
a adoção
the adoption
Questions & Answers about É difícil manter o abrigo cuja taxa de adoção é baixa.
Why is it cuja (feminine) when the shelter (o abrigo) is masculine?
Can I say cuja a taxa?
No, you should never put a definite article (o, a, os, as) immediately after cujo or its variations. In Portuguese, cuja already absorbs the role of the article, so you go straight to the noun: cuja taxa.
Why is the verb manter left in the infinitive here?
The phrase É difícil (It is difficult) is an impersonal expression. When you state a general fact like this without a specific subject doing the action, the following verb stays in its unconjugated infinitive form, which is manter (to maintain).
Why is 'adoption rate' translated as taxa de adoção?
In Portuguese, you cannot stack nouns together so that one acts as an adjective (like using 'adoption' to describe 'rate'). Instead, you must use the preposition de (of) to connect them, literally saying 'rate of adoption'.
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