Learn Portuguese (Portugal): A parede ficou rachada por causa do sismo. - The wall was cracked because of the earthquake.

A parede ficou rachada por causa do sismo.

The wall was cracked because of the earthquake.

Breakdown of A parede ficou rachada por causa do sismo.

Questions & Answers about A parede ficou rachada por causa do sismo.

Why use ficou instead of foi or estava here?

The verb ficar forms the resultative passive. While foi rachada focuses on the action happening and estava rachada simply describes its static state, ficou rachada emphasizes the change of state. It tells us the wall ended up cracked as a direct result of the earthquake.

Why is the participle rachada feminine here?

In passive constructions with ficar, just like with ser and estar, the past participle acts like an adjective. It must agree in gender and number with the subject it describes. Since a parede is feminine singular, the participle becomes rachada.

Could I just use pelo sismo instead of por causa do sismo?

Yes, you could say pelo sismo (by the earthquake), which treats the earthquake as the direct agent of the action. However, por causa do (because of the) is very natural here because it highlights the earthquake as the underlying reason or trigger for the wall's new state.

I have seen the word terramoto for earthquake. Why use sismo here?