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O trânsito caótico é que nos levou à exaustão.

O trânsito caótico é que nos levou à exaustão.
The chaotic traffic is what led us to exhaustion.
From Lesson 344:Expressing extreme consequences (de tal modo que)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about O trânsito caótico é que nos levou à exaustão.

Why is nos placed before the verb levou here instead of being attached to the end?
In an affirmative main clause, Portuguese normally attaches the pronoun to the end of the verb (levou-nos). However, the word que acts as a magnet, pulling the pronoun before the verb. Because we used the emphatic phrase é que, the que forces nos into this position.
What role does the phrase é que play in this sentence?
It acts as an emphatic particle. It doesn't alter the core grammatical structure, but it strongly highlights the subject, translating perfectly to 'is what'. If you remove it, the sentence still makes complete sense as O trânsito caótico levou-nos à exaustão (The chaotic traffic led us to exhaustion).
Why does à have a grave accent in à exaustão?
The verb levar (to lead) requires the preposition a when stating what state or place someone is led to. Since exaustão is a feminine noun requiring the definite article a, the preposition and article combine into à.
How could we rewrite this sentence to use the consecutive clause de tal modo que from this lesson?
You could say O trânsito estava de tal modo caótico que nos levou à exaustão (The traffic was so chaotic that it led us to exhaustion). Notice that we use the indicative mood (levou) after que because the exhaustion is a real, confirmed result, not a hypothetical one.

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