Question 1

How do we form the "less than" comparison in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

To say "less than", we use the phrase menos do que. Since we are comparing how much two groups work, menos comes right after the verb trabalhar (to work), followed by do que and the group we are comparing to.

Question 2

Is it possible to drop the do in menos do que?

Accepted Answer

Yes! You can say either menos do que or just menos que. Both are perfectly correct and mean the exact same thing. Including the do is a very common preference in Portuguese, but it is optional.

Question 3

Why does the sentence use eles (they) when the English translation says "them"?

Accepted Answer

In English, it is common to use an object pronoun like "them" after "than". But in Portuguese, comparisons use subject pronouns like eles (they). You can think of it as a shortened version of "less than they work".

Question 4

Why is the verb trabalhar in its infinitive form instead of being conjugated?

Accepted Answer

Because it directly follows another conjugated verb, podemos (we can). In Portuguese, when two verbs are paired together like this to form a single idea, the second verb stays in its original dictionary (infinitive) form.

Nós podemos trabalhar menos do que eles hoje.

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