Breakdown of Por mais indiferente que a plateia pareça, ele continua.
ele
he
mais
more
por
through / by / for / because of
parecer
to seem
que
that (conjunction)
continuar
to continue
a plateia
the audience (theater, auditorium)
indiferente
indifferent
Questions & Answers about Por mais indiferente que a plateia pareça, ele continua.
Why do we use the subjunctive pareça here instead of the indicative parece?
The structure por mais ... que (no matter how ...) is a concessive clause. It sets up an obstacle that doesn't actually prevent the main action (he continues). In Portuguese, these 'no matter how' phrases always trigger the subjunctive because the exact degree of the adjective (how indifferent they actually are) is treated as unknown, hypothetical, or irrelevant to the outcome.
Why use mais here? Doesn't it mean 'more'?
Could I put the adjective after que, like Por mais que a plateia pareça indiferente?
A plateia sounds like a group of people. Why is the verb pareça in the singular?
Plateia (audience) is a collective noun. Even though it represents many people, the grammatical word itself is singular. Therefore, it must take a third-person singular verb, just like other group nouns you have seen such as a família (the family) or o grupo (the group).
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