Breakdown of Foi o físico quem explicou a equação.
ser
to be
quem
who
explicar
to explain
a equação
the equation
o físico
the physicist
Questions & Answers about Foi o físico quem explicou a equação.
Why do we use quem here instead of que, and could we use que instead?
Because the emphasized element (o físico) is a person, we can use quem (who) to build this cleft sentence (foi... quem). You could absolutely use que instead (Foi o físico que explicou a equação), but quem is very natural and precise when highlighting a person.
If the sentence were "It was me who explained", how would the verbs change?
The first verb changes to match the pronoun: Fui eu. For the second verb, because we used quem, you have two valid choices: it can stay in the third-person singular (Fui eu quem explicou) or agree with the subject (Fui eu quem expliquei). If we had used que instead of quem, it would have to agree with the subject (Fui eu que expliquei).
Why is the first verb Foi in the past tense rather than the present tense É?
In Portuguese emphatic structures, the verb ser traditionally matches the tense of the action verb. Because explicou is in the simple past (Pretérito Perfeito), we use Foi instead of É. While you might hear native speakers use É informally in past-tense contexts, matching the tenses is the standard rule.
Is físico a false friend here?
It can be for English speakers! físico means physicist (a scientist working with physics) or refers to the human physique. If you wanted to say physician (a medical doctor), you would need to use the word médico.
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