Breakdown of Apesar do impasse, o mediador não é irredutível.
ser
to be
não
not / no
apesar de
despite
o impasse
the deadlock
o mediador
the mediator
irredutível
unyielding
Questions & Answers about Apesar do impasse, o mediador não é irredutível.
How would the meaning change if we used a connector from this lesson, like Posto isto, instead of Apesar do?
Apesar de introduces a direct contrast ("Despite..."). Posto isto means "That being said" or "Given this." To use it here, you would need to split the sentence into two: Há um impasse. Posto isto, o mediador não é irredutível. This changes the flow, establishing the deadlock as an accepted fact first, and then using the connector to introduce the surprising flexibility.
I learned that apesar de triggers the subjunctive. Why isn't there a subjunctive verb here?
The subjunctive is only needed when apesar de is followed by the conjunction que and a verb clause (for example, apesar de que haja um impasse). In this sentence, it is followed directly by a noun (o impasse), so the preposition simply contracts with the article to become do and no verb is involved.
Irredutível looks like the math term "irreducible". Is that what it means here?
Is impasse a masculine word, and does it follow normal Portuguese pronunciation?
Yes, it is a masculine noun, which is why we use the contraction do. Because it is a loanword from French, you will hear the first syllable pronounced with a nasal sound, but the end of the word adopts the standard Portuguese muted "e" sound.
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