Breakdown of Eu preciso de comprar um casaco largo, mas ninguém me está a ajudar.
eu
I
mas
but
um
a / an / some (all forms)
estar
to be (temporary / location)
comprar
to buy
o casaco
the coat
precisar de
to need
ninguém
nobody / anybody
ajudar
to help
me
me
largo
baggy
Questions & Answers about Eu preciso de comprar um casaco largo, mas ninguém me está a ajudar.
Why is the pronoun me placed before está instead of being attached to one of the verbs with a hyphen?
This sentence features a verbal complex (the auxiliary verb está plus the action a ajudar). Normally, the pronoun could attach to the auxiliary (está-me a ajudar) or the main verb (está a ajudar-me). However, the negative word ninguém acts as a magnet. It pulls the pronoun to the very front, forcing it to sit before the entire verb phrase: ninguém me está a ajudar.
Why do we need the preposition de in preciso de comprar?
The verb precisar (to need) almost always requires the preposition de when it connects to the thing you need or the action you need to do. Whenever you state that you need to do an action, the pattern is precisar de followed by the infinitive verb.
Doesn't largo mean large? Why is it translated as baggy?
Largo is a classic false friend! It actually means wide, broad, or loose. If you want to say a coat is simply large in size, you would use grande. Because this sentence is about clothing, largo translates best to loose-fitting or baggy.
Why isn't there a não in the second half of the sentence? Don't Portuguese negative statements usually require it?
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