Breakdown of O botânico observa o caule da orquídea, a qual está a florescer.
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
estar
to be (temporary / location)
a qual
which / who (f.sg)
observar
to observe
o botânico
the botanist
o caule
the stem
a orquídea
the orchid
florescer
to bloom
Questions & Answers about O botânico observa o caule da orquídea, a qual está a florescer.
Why use a qual here instead of the simpler relative pronoun que?
If you just used que (o caule da orquídea que está a florescer), it would be ambiguous. Que is gender-neutral, so it could refer to either the masculine caule (stem) or the feminine orquídea (orchid). By using the feminine singular a qual, it perfectly targets orquídea, clarifying that the orchid is blooming, not the stem.
What if I wanted to say that the stem itself was blooming? How would the sentence change?
I sometimes see está florescendo for 'is blooming'. Why does this sentence use está a florescer?
In standard European Portuguese, ongoing actions are typically expressed with the verb estar followed by a and the infinitive verb (florescer). Using the gerund (florescendo) is the standard in Brazilian Portuguese, though you might occasionally hear it in certain regions of Portugal.
Does the word botânico change if the botanist is a woman?
Yes, it behaves like a regular noun, so it would become a botânica. Just be aware from context that a botânica is also the word for the science of botany itself!
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