Breakdown of Esta miniatura é difícil de ver sem a lupa.
ser
to be
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
a
to / at (direction)
este
this (este, esta, estes, estas)
difícil
difficult
ver
to see
sem
without
a miniatura
the miniature
a lupa
the magnifying glass
Questions & Answers about Esta miniatura é difícil de ver sem a lupa.
Why do we need the word de between difícil and ver?
In Portuguese, when an adjective describes how hard it is to do something to a specific subject (like esta miniatura), we must link that adjective to the infinitive verb using the preposition de. This happens with evaluative adjectives like difícil, fácil, and impossível.
Could I phrase this without making esta miniatura the subject?
If the subject is feminine (Esta miniatura), does the adjective need to change?
The adjective in this structure must agree with the subject in gender and number. Here, difícil is a neutral adjective that ends in -l, so it is the same for both masculine and feminine. But if you used a word like complicado (complicated), it would have to change to feminine: Esta miniatura é complicada de ver.
Why does the sentence use a lupa (the magnifying glass) instead of just saying sem lupa (without a magnifying glass)?
Portuguese frequently requires definite articles for specific or expected objects. Because you are talking about the specific tool needed to see the miniature, you use a lupa. If you meant without any magnifying glass in general, you could say sem uma lupa.
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