Word
Trata-se de propriedade intelectual.
Meaning
It is a matter of intellectual property.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Trata-se de propriedade intelectual.
a propriedade
the property
tratar-se de
to be a matter of / to concern
intelectual
intellectual
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Questions & Answers about Trata-se de propriedade intelectual.
What exactly does the impersonal construction trata-se de mean in this context?
It translates to "it is a matter of", "it is about", or "it concerns". You use tratar-se de to identify or introduce the main subject of a situation, discussion, or text. Even though the verb tratar usually means "to treat", this specific reflexive construction is strictly used to mean "to be about".
If the topic were plural, would the verb change to tratam-se?
No, it always stays in the third-person singular! Because tratar-se de is an impersonal construction, it doesn't have a subject to agree with. Even if you were talking about multiple things (e.g., "It is a matter of patents"), you would still say Trata-se de patentes, never Tratam-se de patentes.
Why don't we use the definite article here and say da propriedade intelectual?
In this sentence, propriedade intelectual is being treated as a broad, abstract category rather than a specific, defined instance of property. When referring to concepts in this general, undefined way immediately after the preposition de, it's standard to omit the article.
Could I start this sentence with Se trata instead of Trata-se?