Breakdown of Eu não aceitaria nada, nem que o suborno fosse enorme.
eu
I
ser
to be
não
not / no
nada
nothing / anything
o
him/it (m)
que
that (conjunction)
aceitar
to accept
nem
nor, not even
enorme
huge
o suborno
the bribe
Questions & Answers about Eu não aceitaria nada, nem que o suborno fosse enorme.
Why do we use the imperfect subjunctive fosse after nem que here?
The phrase nem que introduces an extreme or highly unlikely condition. Because the main verb aceitaria is in the conditional tense (setting up a hypothetical scenario), nem que must be followed by the imperfect subjunctive to match that hypothetical timeline.
Doesn't mesmo que also mean 'even if'? Could I use it here instead of nem que?
Yes, you could use mesmo que, and it would also trigger the imperfect subjunctive fosse. However, nem que is specifically used to emphasize an extreme limit or an absolute refusal, making it slightly more dramatic and natural for this sentence than the more neutral mesmo que.
Why does nem que translate simply to 'even if' instead of 'not even if'?
The word nem does carry a negative meaning, so literally this implies 'not even if the bribe were enormous'. However, in English, 'even if' often sounds more natural after a negative main clause ('I wouldn't accept...'). The Portuguese expression nem que acts as a fixed phrase for these extreme hypothetical limits.
Just to review, why use nada instead of a word for 'anything' like alguma coisa?
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