Breakdown of É preciso impedir a desflorestação.
o
him/it (m)
é preciso
it is necessary
impedir
to prevent, to block
a desflorestação
the deforestation
Questions & Answers about É preciso impedir a desflorestação.
How does the prefix des- change the meaning to create desflorestação?
Why use impedir instead of parar for "to stop"?
Parar is typically used to halt a physical movement or an action you are currently doing (like stopping a car or stopping talking). Impedir means to prevent, block, or impede a process from happening or continuing. For large-scale processes like deforestation, impedir is the natural choice.
The English translation says "We must stop," but where is the "we" in the Portuguese sentence?
It doesn't actually exist in the Portuguese sentence! É preciso is an impersonal expression that literally translates to "It is necessary." It expresses a general obligation without specifying a subject. In English, we often translate this broad, societal obligation as "we must."
Should preciso change to precisa to match the feminine noun a desflorestação?
No, because preciso isn't describing a desflorestação. It is describing the entire action of impedir a desflorestação (stopping the deforestation). Since an action or infinitive phrase has no gender, the default masculine singular form preciso is always used here.
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