Breakdown of O embarcar dos passageiros demorou mais tempo do que a viagem.
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
a viagem
the trip
mais
more
o tempo
the time
do que
than
o passageiro
the passenger
embarcar
to board
demorar
to take (time)
Questions & Answers about O embarcar dos passageiros demorou mais tempo do que a viagem.
Why do we use mais tempo do que here instead of just mais de?
The current lesson teaches that mais de is used before numbers (like mais de duas horas). Because this sentence compares two things (the time the boarding took versus the journey itself) rather than stating a numerical amount, it requires the standard comparative form mais do que.
Why is a verb used as a noun here with O embarcar? Couldn't we just use the noun o embarque?
You absolutely can use o embarque, which means the exact same thing. However, placing the masculine singular article o before an infinitive verb is a common way to turn the verb into a noun. Doing this emphasizes the continuous action or process of boarding, rather than just the concept.
To say it took more time, could I translate literally and say tomou mais tempo?
Is the word do in mais tempo do que optional?
Yes, in this type of comparison you can drop the do and just say mais tempo que a viagem. Both are grammatically correct, but including the do is extremely common and often sounds more natural in European Portuguese.
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