Breakdown of Eu não o faria, nem que me ameaçasses.
eu
I
não
not / no
fazer
to do
me
me
o
him/it (m)
que
that (conjunction)
nem
nor, not even
ameaçar
to threaten
Questions & Answers about Eu não o faria, nem que me ameaçasses.
Why does this sentence use the imperfect subjunctive ameaçasses instead of the future subjunctive?
The conjunction nem que introduces an extreme hypothetical condition ('not even if' or 'even if'). Unlike the standard word se ('if'), which would use the future subjunctive for a future possibility, nem que requires the imperfect subjunctive here to emphasize how unlikely or extreme the condition is. This pairs naturally with the conditional tense faria in the main clause.
Does nem que mean the exact same thing as mesmo se?
They are very similar and both translate to 'even if' in this context, taking the imperfect subjunctive. However, nem que is more dramatic and emphatic. It literally leans towards 'not even if', making your refusal sound much stronger than a simple mesmo se.
Why is the pronoun placed before the verb in não o faria?
Negative words like não act as magnets in Portuguese, pulling the object pronoun before the verb. If the sentence were positive, the pronoun would attach to the verb. Because faria is in the conditional tense, a positive sentence would actually split the verb into eu fá-lo-ia. The negative não makes it much simpler to say!
What forces the pronoun me to come before the verb in nem que me ameaçasses?
Subordinate conjunctions containing que also act as pronoun magnets. Since the verb is part of a dependent clause introduced by nem que, the pronoun me is forced to sit in front of the verb rather than attaching to the end of it.
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