Question 1

Why is there no que between Esperamos and compreendam?

Accepted Answer

In highly formal Portuguese, such as business correspondence or official announcements, the conjunction que is sometimes omitted before a subjunctive verb. In everyday speech, you would always say Esperamos que compreendam, but dropping it makes the sentence sound much more formal and elevated.

Question 2

Why is compreendam in the subjunctive?

Accepted Answer

The verb esperar (to hope) triggers the subjunctive because it expresses a desire or expectation about someone else's actions. Even though the que was dropped for formality, the grammatical requirement for the subjunctive remains unchanged.

Question 3

Since the pronoun is omitted, how do we know compreendam means "you" and not "they"?

Accepted Answer

The third-person plural conjugation compreendam can technically mean either "they" (eles/elas) or the formal "you" (vocês or os senhores). However, highly formal sentences that drop the que are almost always direct addresses to customers or the public, so context strongly implies it is speaking directly to "you."

Question 4

I usually see quebra translated as a "break." How does it mean "drop" here?

Accepted Answer

While quebra does come from the verb quebrar (to break), in business or technical contexts it frequently refers to a drop, fall, or interruption. For instance, quebra de lucros means a drop in profits, and quebra de energia is a power outage. Here, it means an unexpected drop or disruption in a service, metric, or supply.

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