Breakdown of Até o médico incansável deve dormir oito horas.
o médico
the doctor (m)
oito
eight
a hora
the hour
dormir
to sleep
dever
should / ought to
até
even
incansável
tireless
Questions & Answers about Até o médico incansável deve dormir oito horas.
I learned that até means 'until'. How does it mean 'even' here?
You are right that até often means 'until' as a preposition (like in até amanhã). However, it can also act as an adverb meaning 'even'. It is used to highlight an extreme or surprising case—here, emphasizing that a doctor who is considered 'tireless' still needs to rest.
Why is there no word for 'for' in dormir oito horas?
In English, we usually use 'for' to show how long an action lasts. In Portuguese, it is very common to state the duration directly after the verb without any preposition. You could say dormir durante oito horas or dormir por oito horas, but simply saying dormir oito horas is perfectly correct and natural.
How is the word incansável built?
It is built from the verb cansar (to tire). Adding the suffix -ável creates the adjective cansável (able to be tired). Finally, adding the negative prefix in- gives us incansável, which literally means 'unable to be tired' or 'tireless'.
Could I change the word order and say 'Até o incansável médico'?
Yes, you could. The standard position for adjectives is after the noun, which gives a simple, objective description (o médico incansável). Moving it before the noun (o incansável médico) is grammatically correct but makes the sentence sound more poetic, emphasizing his tirelessness as an inherent, defining trait.
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