Breakdown of Em primeiro lugar, é preciso proteger a nossa privacidade.
nosso
our (m/f/pl: nosso, nossa, nossos, nossas)
proteger
to protect
é preciso
it is necessary
em primeiro lugar
in the first place, firstly
a privacidade
the privacy
Questions & Answers about Em primeiro lugar, é preciso proteger a nossa privacidade.
Why do we use em instead of no in em primeiro lugar?
Em primeiro lugar is a fixed discourse marker meaning firstly or first of all. You use the bare preposition em rather than the contraction no (em + o) because you are ordering a logical argument, not talking about physically finishing in the first place in a race or competition.
Can I use primeiramente instead of em primeiro lugar?
Yes, primeiramente is a direct synonym and perfectly valid. However, em primeiro lugar is extremely common and natural in European Portuguese for structuring arguments, so it is a highly recommended phrase to use in these situations.
Why does proteger stay in the infinitive here? Shouldn't it be in the subjunctive?
Because the sentence makes a general statement about what is necessary, you use the impersonal expression é preciso followed directly by the infinitive proteger. If you wanted to specify exactly who must do the protecting, you would introduce the word que and trigger the subjunctive: é preciso que nós protejamos (it is necessary that we protect).
I always forget: why is there an a before nossa privacidade?
In European Portuguese, you generally must include the definite article (a, o, as, os) before a possessive pronoun that comes right before a noun. Here, a nossa privacidade literally translates as the our privacy.
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