Breakdown of Precisamos de documentar o habitat da espécie endémica, o qual está a desaparecer.
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
estar
to be (temporary / location)
precisar de
to need
desaparecer
to disappear
a espécie
the species
o qual
which / who (m.sg)
documentar
to document
o habitat
the habitat
endémico
endemic
Questions & Answers about Precisamos de documentar o habitat da espécie endémica, o qual está a desaparecer.
Why use o qual here instead of the simpler word que?
How would I change the sentence if it was actually the species that was disappearing?
You would swap o qual for the feminine singular a qual. This would firmly attach the relative clause to a espécie endémica instead of the habitat.
Is the preposition de required in precisamos de documentar?
Yes, in European Portuguese, when precisar is followed by another verb in the infinitive, the preposition de is strictly required. While you might sometimes hear it dropped in informal speech or Brazilian Portuguese, standard European Portuguese demands precisamos de.
Why use está a desaparecer instead of está desaparecendo?
The structure estar a plus an infinitive is the standard way to form the present continuous in European Portuguese. Using the gerund (like desaparecendo) is grammatically valid but is strongly associated with Brazilian Portuguese or specific regional dialects in Portugal.
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