Breakdown of A rapariga foi mais romântica que afetuosa durante o jantar.
ser
to be
a rapariga
the girl
a
to / at (direction)
o jantar
the dinner
mais
more
o
him/it (m)
durante
during
que
than (in comparisons)
romântico
romantic
afetuoso
affectionate
Questions & Answers about A rapariga foi mais romântica que afetuosa durante o jantar.
Why is it just que instead of do que in this sentence?
Because we are comparing two qualities (romântica and afetuosa) of the exact same subject (a rapariga). When you have an intra-subject comparison like this (saying someone is more X than Y), standard Portuguese prefers to drop the do and just use que.
Would it be completely wrong to say mais romântica do que afetuosa?
In everyday speech, you will sometimes hear native speakers use do que even when comparing two adjectives for the same subject. However, standard grammar rules dictate that dropping the do is the most correct structure for this specific type of comparison.
Why use foi instead of era, given that we are describing her traits?
While era is typically used for ongoing past descriptions, foi (the simple past) is used here because her behavior is framed as a single, completed event. The phrase durante o jantar acts as a strict time boundary, showing this was how she acted for that specific, finished duration.
Do both adjectives have to agree with a rapariga?
Yes. Even though afetuosa comes after the comparison word que, it is still an adjective directly describing a rapariga. Therefore, both romântica and afetuosa must take the feminine singular form.
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