Breakdown of A revisão de que preciso é muito cara.
ser
to be
muito
much / very
caro
expensive
precisar de
to need
Questions & Answers about A revisão de que preciso é muito cara.
Why do we say de que instead of just que here?
The verb precisar (to need) always pairs with the preposition de when you need something (precisar de). In Portuguese, if the verb inside a relative clause requires a preposition, that preposition must be placed directly before que. You can think of it literally as 'The service of which I need.'
In English, we could just say 'The service I'm in need of' and leave the preposition at the end. Can we do that in Portuguese?
No. Unlike English, Portuguese strictly forbids leaving a preposition at the end of a sentence or clause. You also cannot drop the word que (that) like we often do in English. The preposition must always lock in right before que—saying 'A revisão que preciso de' is grammatically incorrect in Portuguese.
I learned revisão as 'review' or 'revision'. Why is it translated as 'service' here?
While revisão does mean 'review' or 'proofreading' when talking about texts or studying, it is also the standard word for a mechanical 'service' or 'maintenance check' on a vehicle. Because this revisão is described as muito cara (very expensive), the context strongly points to a car service rather than an academic review.