Log inSign up

Não posso trabalhar porque o computador está estragado.

Não posso trabalhar porque o computador está estragado.
I cannot work because the computer is broken.
From Lesson 56:Coordinating conjunctions (e, mas, ou, porque)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Não posso trabalhar porque o computador está estragado.

Does porque mean 'because' or 'why' here?
In this sentence, porque is a conjunction meaning 'because', linking the reason to the action. In Portuguese, porque is also used to ask 'why' at the beginning or middle of a question. If you need to ask 'why' at the very end of a sentence, the spelling changes to porquê.
Why is the second verb trabalhar in its dictionary form?
When you have two verbs working together like this, only the first one changes to match the person doing the action. Posso is already conjugated to mean 'I can', so the second verb trabalhar (to work) stays in its basic, unconjugated form (the infinitive).
Why do we use está for 'is' instead of é?
We use está (from the verb estar) because the computer being broken is a temporary state or condition. Hopefully, it can be fixed! If we used é (from the verb ser), it would sound like the computer is permanently and inherently a broken thing by nature.
Would estragado change if the broken item was a feminine word?
Yes! Estragado (broken) describes the noun, so its ending must match the noun's gender. Since o computador is masculine, it ends in -o. If a feminine object were broken, like a printer (a impressora), you would say it está estragada.

Learn Não posso trabalhar porque o computador está estragado and more in Portuguese

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Portuguese →