Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Neste dilema, é difícil saber o certo. - In this dilemma, it is difficult to know the right thing.

Neste dilema, é difícil saber o certo.

In this dilemma, it is difficult to know the right thing.

Breakdown of Neste dilema, é difícil saber o certo.

Questions & Answers about Neste dilema, é difícil saber o certo.

Why does the sentence use o certo instead of a coisa certa?

Both are perfectly correct! Using o before a masculine singular adjective is a very common way to turn that adjective into an abstract noun. Here, o certo translates to 'the right' but means 'the right thing'. It is often preferred because it is shorter and sounds very natural in Portuguese.

Wait, dilema ends in the letter a. Why do we use the masculine neste instead of the feminine nesta?

Even though it ends in the letter a, dilema is a masculine noun (o dilema). This is a common exception for Portuguese words of Greek origin ending in -ma, such as o problema, o sistema, and o tema. Because it is masculine, the preposition em combined with este becomes neste.

Why is there no preposition after difícil, such as difícil de saber?

When using an impersonal structure starting with é (it is), the adjective connects directly to the infinitive verb. You say é difícil saber (it is hard to know). You only use de if a specific noun is the subject before the adjective, for example: o dilema é difícil de entender (the dilemma is hard to understand).

Can I use other adjectives like this with just the article o?