Breakdown of Ele ainda não decidiu o rumo porque é imprevisível.
ser
to be
não
not / no
ele
he
decidir
to decide
porque
because
ainda
still / yet / even (with comparatives)
imprevisível
unpredictable
o rumo
the course (direction, route)
Questions & Answers about Ele ainda não decidiu o rumo porque é imprevisível.
Since this lesson focuses on the Future Subjunctive, why does this sentence use the Indicative (é) after porque?
The conjunction porque (because) introduces a known cause or an established fact, which requires the indicative mood. You only use the Future Subjunctive with conformity words like conforme or como (as / according to how) when they refer to an uncertain or uncompleted future action (e.g., Ele vai decidir o rumo conforme for necessário - He will decide the course as it becomes necessary).
Can I put ainda at the end of the clause to match the English "hasn't decided yet"?
While people would understand ele não decidiu o rumo ainda, it is much more natural in European Portuguese to keep ainda não grouped together directly before the verb (ainda não decidiu).
Can o rumo be used for both literal and figurative directions?
Yes. O rumo means "the course", "the heading", or "the direction". It can be used literally for navigation (like a ship's heading) or figuratively, as it likely is here, referring to a path in life, a career choice, or the direction a project is taking.
Is it wrong to say porque ele é imprevisível instead of just porque é?
It's not grammatically wrong, but it sounds repetitive. Since the first clause already establishes Ele as the subject, European Portuguese naturally drops the pronoun in the second clause because the context and the verb conjugation make it perfectly clear who is being talked about.
How is the word imprevisível constructed?
It is built on the root verb ver (to see). By adding the prefix pre- (before), you get prever (to foresee/predict). Add the suffix -ível (able to be) to make previsível (predictable), and finally attach the negative prefix im- to get imprevisível (unpredictable).
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