Breakdown of Eles não são os últimos dinossauros a evoluir, mas sim os primeiros.
ser
to be
não
not / no
sim
yes
eles
they (m)
mas
but
a
to / at (direction)
o
him/it (m)
primeiro
first
último
last
o dinossauro
the dinosaur
evoluir
to evolve
Questions & Answers about Eles não são os últimos dinossauros a evoluir, mas sim os primeiros.
Why do we use mas sim here instead of just mas?
Why is there an a before evoluir? Couldn't we just use the infinitive directly?
In Portuguese, when an infinitive describes a noun—especially after adjectives like últimos (last), primeiros (first), or únicos (only)—you must connect them with the preposition a. You cannot just say dinossauros evoluir. Alternatively, you could use a relative clause like que evoluíram (that evolved).
Does os primeiros mean 'the first ones' here?
Exactly. You do not need to repeat the noun dinossauros because the definite article os paired with the ordinal number primeiros acts as a pronoun. It matches the masculine plural gender of the dinosaurs being discussed, completely replacing the need to say the full phrase again.
Would the sentence still be correct if I left out the sim?
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