Breakdown of É de lamentar qualquer erro ao identificar uma espécie letal.
ser
to be
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
um
a / an / some (all forms)
o erro
the mistake
qualquer
any (whichever)
a espécie
the species
lamentar
to regret, to be sorry
ao
upon / when (doing something)
identificar
to identify
letal
lethal
Questions & Answers about É de lamentar qualquer erro ao identificar uma espécie letal.
What is the difference between saying é de lamentar and just using the passive voice é lamentado?
The structure ser de + infinitive (like é de lamentar) is used to give an evaluation or express that something deserves to be or ought to be done. While é lamentado states a pure fact meaning 'it is regretted', é de lamentar carries a judgment, meaning 'it is regrettable' or 'it is to be regretted'.
Why does the subject qualquer erro come after the verb phrase É de lamentar?
Why use ao identificar for 'when identifying' instead of translating 'when' as quando?
Using the preposition a combined with the definite article o and an infinitive verb (like ao identificar) is a very natural Portuguese construction meaning 'upon identifying' or 'while identifying'. You could say quando se identifica, but ao identificar is much more concise and elegantly links the action to the mistake.
How does the meaning change if I put qualquer after the noun, like um erro qualquer?
When qualquer comes before the noun, as in qualquer erro, it means 'any mistake at all' or 'whatever mistake'. If you place it after the noun, it usually means 'any ordinary' or 'a random' mistake, which would sound strange here because a mistake identifying a lethal species is never just a trivial, ordinary thing.
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