Breakdown of Seja peixe, seja carne, a proteína é nutritiva.
ser
to be
a carne
the meat
o peixe
the fish
a
to / at (direction)
seja
whether (in seja... seja)
nutritivo
nutritious
a proteína
the protein
Questions & Answers about Seja peixe, seja carne, a proteína é nutritiva.
Why does this sentence use seja... seja instead of ou... ou to mean "whether... or"?
The phrase seja... seja literally means "be it... be it". It is used to present hypothetical alternatives, emphasizing that the main statement (protein is nutritious) remains true regardless of the choice. If you used ou... ou, it would just mean a factual "either fish or meat", which loses the "it doesn't matter which" nuance.
If I wanted to talk about plural items like "vegetables or fruits", would seja change to plural?
Could I use quer... quer in this sentence instead?
Absolutely. Saying quer peixe, quer carne is a perfect substitute. Both seja... seja and quer... quer are advanced alternative correlatives used to express that the outcome is identical no matter which option is presented.
Why is there an a before proteína when in English we just say "protein"?
In European Portuguese, you must use a definite article (o, a, os, as) when talking about a substance, category, or abstract concept in a broad sense. While English drops the article for general statements like "protein is nutritious", Portuguese requires a proteína.
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