Breakdown of A insónia crónica pode afetar a tua saúde.
teu
your (informal, m/f/pl: teu, tua, teus, tuas)
poder
can / may (verb)
a saúde
the health
a insónia
the insomnia
crónico
chronic
afetar
to affect
Questions & Answers about A insónia crónica pode afetar a tua saúde.
Why do we need the article A before insónia crónica? In English we just say 'Chronic insomnia'.
In Portuguese, definite articles like a or o are almost always used before abstract nouns or general concepts when they are the subject of a sentence. So, general 'insomnia' becomes a insónia.
Is afetar spelled without a 'c' in European Portuguese?
Yes. Under the Orthographic Agreement, silent consonants were dropped. Since the 'c' in the older spelling (afectar) was historically silent in Portugal, it is now written as afetar.
Could I drop the article a before tua saúde and just say pode afetar tua saúde?
In European Portuguese, the definite article is generally mandatory before possessives like tua or meu when they modify a noun. While Brazilian Portuguese often drops it, you must include the a here for Portugal.
How could I use daí que to connect this sentence to the consequence 'you should see a doctor'?
You could say: A insónia crónica pode afetar a tua saúde, daí que devas ir ao médico. Remember that daí que (meaning 'hence' or 'therefore') triggers the subjunctive mood, which is why we use devas (the present subjunctive of dever) instead of the indicative deves.
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