Breakdown of O enfermeiro sugere sempre que o paciente previna a infeção.
sempre
always
o enfermeiro
the nurse
que
that (conjunction)
sugerir
to suggest
o paciente
the patient
prevenir
to prevent
a infeção
the infection
Questions & Answers about O enfermeiro sugere sempre que o paciente previna a infeção.
Why does this sentence use the subjunctive previna instead of the indicative previne?
The verb sugerir (to suggest) is a strong trigger for the subjunctive. When you report a suggestion, recommendation, or request using que (that), the verb in the following clause must be in the subjunctive mood to reflect the hypothetical nature of the advice—the patient hasn't actually prevented the infection yet!
The infinitive is prevenir. Why does the stem change to previn- in the subjunctive previna?
Prevenir is a radical-changing verb that shifts its stem vowel from 'e' to 'i' in certain forms. Remember that the present subjunctive is built from the eu form of the present indicative. Since "I prevent" is eu previno, that previn- stem carries over to the entire present subjunctive, giving us previna.
In English we say "always suggests". Why is sempre placed after the verb sugere here?
In European Portuguese, short adverbs of frequency like sempre (always) typically go immediately after the conjugated verb in a simple affirmative sentence. Saying sempre sugere sounds unnatural in Portugal, though you might hear it in Brazilian Portuguese.
Why is infeção spelled without a 'c' before the 'ç'?
Under the modern spelling agreement (Acordo Ortográfico), consonants that are completely silent in pronunciation were dropped from the spelling. Because the 'c' in the older spelling infecção was never pronounced in Portugal, it was removed to match how the word actually sounds.
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