Breakdown of Em primeiro lugar, de quem é a culpa desta invasão?
ser
to be
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
quem
who
este
this (este, esta, estes, estas)
a culpa
the fault
em primeiro lugar
in the first place, firstly
a invasão
the invasion
Questions & Answers about Em primeiro lugar, de quem é a culpa desta invasão?
How do we use em primeiro lugar, and does it always need a follow-up like em segundo lugar?
Em primeiro lugar translates to "first of all" or "firstly" and is a great discourse marker to introduce your primary argument or most pressing question. While it is often followed later by em segundo lugar (secondly), it can absolutely stand alone just to emphasize that this is the most important point to address right now.
Why is "whose fault" translated as de quem é a culpa rather than keeping "whose" and "fault" together?
Portuguese does not have a single question word for "whose". Instead, you have to say "of whom", which is de quem. Because it works as a prepositional phrase, the structure flips to literally mean "of whom is the fault". You will use this de quem structure anytime you need to ask "whose" something is.
Why do we use the preposition de in desta invasão?
The noun culpa (fault or blame) requires the preposition de to link it to the event being blamed. You are asking who owns the blame of this invasion. We combine de with the feminine demonstrative esta (this) to form the contraction desta.
Why is there an article in a culpa when the English translation just says "whose fault"?
In Portuguese, nouns often require a definite article where English does not. While English simply asks "whose fault", Portuguese structures it as "of whom is the fault", requiring the feminine singular article a before culpa.
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