Breakdown of Na verdade, confundir o jogo com a realidade é inquietante.
ser
to be
com
with
a
to / at (direction)
o
him/it (m)
o jogo
the game
confundir
to confuse
na verdade
actually, in fact
a realidade
the reality
inquietante
unsettling
Questions & Answers about Na verdade, confundir o jogo com a realidade é inquietante.
How is the adjective inquietante formed, and what does its ending mean?
The word inquietante is built from the verb inquietar (to disturb or unsettle) and the suffix -nte. This suffix creates an active participle, meaning an adjective that describes something causing the action of the verb. It functions just like the "-ing" ending in the English word "unsettling". Because it ends in an -e, inquietante has only one form for both masculine and feminine subjects.
Why is "Actually" translated as Na verdade instead of Atualmente?
The Portuguese word atualmente is a classic false friend; it means "currently" or "nowadays". When you want to say "actually" in the sense of "in fact" or "as a matter of fact", na verdade or de facto are the correct phrases to use.
Why does the sentence use the infinitive confundir instead of a gerund like confundindo for "confusing"?
In English, we often use the "-ing" form (the gerund) as a noun to act as the subject of a sentence, as in "confusing the game...". In Portuguese, the gerund is mostly restricted to continuous, ongoing actions. Whenever a verb acts as the subject of a sentence, Portuguese requires the infinitive form, which is confundir here.
Why is there an "a" before realidade?
Unlike English, Portuguese almost always requires a definite article (o or a) before abstract nouns or general concepts. Because the sentence is talking about "reality" as a broad concept, it requires the feminine singular article a to become a realidade.
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