Question 1

Why is the verb faltam in the plural when the English translation says 'They are missing'?

Accepted Answer

With verbs like faltar, the grammatical structure is flipped compared to English. The thing that is lacking (os pratos descartáveis) is the actual subject of the sentence. Since 'plates' is plural, the verb becomes faltam. The people who lack the plates are expressed as an indirect object (-lhes, meaning 'to them').

Question 2

Does faltar mean 'to miss' in an emotional sense here?

Accepted Answer

No, faltar expresses a physical lack or absence of something, like not having enough plates for a party. If you want to say you emotionally miss a person or a place, you would use the noun saudades, as in Tenho saudades tuas, or the phrase sentir a falta de.

Question 3

Could we replace -lhes with a eles in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Yes, grammatically you could say Faltam a eles os pratos descartáveis. However, using the attached indirect object pronoun -lhes is much more natural and standard in European Portuguese. You would usually only use a eles if you needed to heavily emphasize who was missing the plates, or to clarify an ambiguous pronoun.

Question 4

Why does the adjective descartáveis come after the noun pratos?

Accepted Answer

In Portuguese, adjectives that state an objective, classifying fact about a noun, like being disposable (descartáveis), must follow the noun. You generally only place adjectives before the noun when they are subjective, figurative, or used to add emotional emphasis.

Faltam-lhes os pratos descartáveis.

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