Breakdown of Até uma minoria pode ser relevante no censo.
ser
to be
um
a / an / some (all forms)
no
in the / on the / at the (m, f, pl forms: na, nos, nas)
poder
can / may (verb)
até
even
o censo
the census
a minoria
the minority
relevante
relevant
Questions & Answers about Até uma minoria pode ser relevante no censo.
Uma minoria represents multiple people. Why is the verb singular (pode) instead of plural?
Collective nouns that express a proportion, like uma minoria (a minority) or a maioria (the majority), are grammatically singular. Because it stands alone here without a plural modifier, the verb must be in the singular: pode. If the sentence were uma minoria das pessoas (a minority of the people), you could actually choose to use either the singular (pode) or the plural (podem), though the singular is often preferred in formal European Portuguese to match the head noun.
I usually see até translated as 'until'. How does it mean 'even' here?
While até often means 'until' as a preposition of time or space (like in até amanhã), it is also widely used as an adverb meaning 'even' or 'including'. In this sentence, it emphasizes that even a minority has relevance, adding a sense of unexpected inclusion. You could also use mesmo in this context, as in mesmo uma minoria.
Is censo exactly the same as the English word 'census'?
Yes, censo directly translates to 'census' (the official count of a population). However, be careful not to confuse it with the identical-sounding word senso, which means 'sense' (as in senso comum, meaning common sense). They are pronounced exactly the same in Portuguese but have entirely different meanings.
Why use ser instead of estar with relevante? Isn't relevance temporary depending on the specific census?
We use ser because being relevant is treated as an inherent characteristic or mathematical property of that minority within the context of the data, rather than a temporary physical state, condition, or mood. The phrase pode ser relevante describes what the minority fundamentally represents in this statistical context.
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