Breakdown of A plantação donde importamos o café já não existe.
o café
the café
importar
to matter
já não
no longer
existir
to exist
donde
from where
a plantação
the plantation
Questions & Answers about A plantação donde importamos o café já não existe.
Why do we use donde here instead of just onde?
Donde is a contraction of the preposition de (from) and the relative pronoun onde (where). The verb importar (to import) requires the preposition de to indicate origin (importing from somewhere). Because we are saying 'where we import from', we must combine them into donde.
Could I say de onde instead of donde in this sentence?
Yes, de onde is completely correct and often used interchangeably with donde in European Portuguese. Using donde is just a slightly more fluid, contracted way to express it.
Why is it já não existe instead of não existe mais?
In European Portuguese, 'no longer' or 'not anymore' is almost always expressed with já não placed before the verb. While não [verb] mais is very common in Brazilian Portuguese, já não is the natural and strongly preferred choice in Portugal.
Why is there a definite article before café (o café) when the English translation just says 'coffee'?
In Portuguese, definite articles (o, a, os, as) are required before nouns when speaking about them in a broad, general, or categorical sense. Even though English omits the article when talking about importing 'coffee' in general, Portuguese requires o café.
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