Breakdown of É capaz de cair granizo antes do pôr do sol.
antes de
before
cair
to fall
ser capaz de
to be capable of, to be able to
o granizo
the hail
Questions & Answers about É capaz de cair granizo antes do pôr do sol.
Why does this sentence use É capaz de to mean 'might' instead of a word like talvez?
In European Portuguese, ser capaz de followed by an infinitive is a very common, natural way to express probability or something that is likely to happen. While it literally translates to 'is capable of', in this context it acts like the English 'might' or 'could'. You could use talvez (e.g., Talvez caia granizo), but that requires the subjunctive mood. Ser capaz de is a handy way to express the same uncertainty using just the indicative and infinitive!
Why do we say cair granizo (to fall hail) rather than using a single verb for 'to hail'?
Why is granizo placed after the verb phrase rather than at the beginning of the sentence?
Weather events are usually treated as impersonal occurrences in Portuguese. Instead of making the weather element the active subject at the start of the sentence, Portuguese places the phenomenon after the verb. Placing it at the front (O granizo é capaz de cair) would sound unnaturally personified to a native speaker.
Why does pôr in pôr do sol have a circumflex accent?