Breakdown of A aquisição foi um sucesso, na medida em que criou escala.
ser
to be
um
a / an / some (all forms)
criar
to create
o sucesso
the success
a aquisição
the acquisition
na medida em que
in that / to the extent that
a escala
the scale (size, proportion)
Questions & Answers about A aquisição foi um sucesso, na medida em que criou escala.
How does na medida em que function in this sentence, and could I just use uma vez que?
The phrase na medida em que translates to in that or to the extent that. It introduces the specific reason or context that makes the first statement true. You could substitute it with uma vez que (meaning since or seeing that) because it is also a causal connector, but na medida em que is slightly more precise here: it restricts the idea of success specifically to the fact that the acquisition created scale.
Why is the verb criou in the indicative mood? Doesn't the word que usually trigger the subjunctive?
While many expressions ending in que do trigger the subjunctive (like para que or sem que), causal connectors that state an established fact take the indicative mood. Because na medida em que (just like uma vez que or já que) introduces a reality rather than a doubt or condition, it uses the regular past tense criou.
Is na medida em que interchangeable with à medida que?
No, and mixing them up is a very common trap! The phrase na medida em que expresses a cause or justification (in that or since), which is exactly what we see in this sentence. On the other hand, à medida que expresses simultaneous progression (as or while), used in contexts like things improving as time passes. They cannot be swapped.
Is escala used here in the same way we talk about business scale in English?
Yes, escala in this context refers directly to economies of scale or reaching a larger, more efficient size in business. You will also often see the phrase ganhar escala (to gain scale) used in similar corporate contexts in Portuguese.
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