Breakdown of Por um lado, tenho medo de que a vigilância não seja ética.
ser
to be
não
not / no
ter medo de
to be afraid of
que
that (conjunction)
por um lado
on one hand
a vigilância
the surveillance
ético
ethical
Questions & Answers about Por um lado, tenho medo de que a vigilância não seja ética.
Why do we say Por um lado instead of using the word for hand like in English?
In Portuguese, we structure this argument using sides (lados) rather than hands. Translating on one hand literally to por uma mão would sound very strange to a native speaker. You will usually follow this up in the next clause or sentence with por outro lado or simply por outro to mean on the other hand.
Why is the preposition de included in tenho medo de que?
In English, we usually drop prepositions before the word that (we say I am afraid that, not I am afraid of that). In Portuguese, if a verb or expression naturally takes a preposition, like ter medo de (to be afraid of), you must keep that preposition even when it is followed by the conjunction que.
Why is the verb ser in the subjunctive form (seja) here?
The phrase tenho medo de que expresses an emotion or fear. In Portuguese, expressing how you feel about an action or state always triggers the subjunctive mood in the following clause, which is why we use seja instead of the present indicative é.
Could I drop the article a and just say de que vigilância não seja ética?
It is much more natural to keep the definite article a here. In Portuguese, when you talk about a general concept or an abstract noun like surveillance (a vigilância), the definite article is normally required, unlike in English where it is left out.
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