Breakdown of Caso queiras perceber o quotidiano, deves questionar tudo.
querer
to want
dever
should / ought to
tudo
everything
perceber
to understand, to get it
caso
in case
o quotidiano
the everyday life
questionar
to question
Questions & Answers about Caso queiras perceber o quotidiano, deves questionar tudo.
Why do we use the present subjunctive (queiras) here instead of the future subjunctive?
This happens because of the conjunction caso (in case / if). In Portuguese, caso always triggers the present subjunctive for hypothetical situations. If you wanted to use se (if) instead, you would have to switch to the future subjunctive: se quiseres.
Is perceber the most natural choice for "to understand" in Portugal?
Yes, absolutely. While entender and compreender are perfectly correct and widely used, perceber is the default, everyday verb in European Portuguese for "to understand" or "to get" something.
The lesson is about substantivation of the infinitive. Where is the substantivated infinitive in this sentence?
This sentence actually doesn't contain one! However, it sets up an excellent opportunity to practice. A substantivated infinitive turns a verb into a noun by putting o in front of it. You could easily rewrite the second half of this sentence to use one: ...o questionar de tudo é essencial (...the questioning of everything is essential).
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