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Nós temos de lutar para conseguir os direitos.

Nós temos de lutar para conseguir os direitos.
We have to fight to achieve the rights.
From Lesson 115:Purpose clauses (para)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Nós temos de lutar para conseguir os direitos.

Why do we need the word para before conseguir?
In English, you can often just say 'to achieve' to show your goal. In Portuguese, when you want to say 'in order to' or show the purpose of an action, you must use the preposition para followed by the infinitive (the original, unconjugated form) of the verb. So para conseguir perfectly translates to 'in order to achieve'.
I thought the verb conseguir meant 'to be able to'. Why does it mean 'to achieve' here?
It depends on what comes after it! When conseguir is followed by another verb, it means 'to be able to' or 'to manage to' do something. But when it is followed by a noun, like os direitos (the rights), it means 'to achieve', 'to get', or 'to obtain' that specific thing.
Why is it temos de lutar instead of just temos lutar?
To express an obligation like 'have to' or 'must', Portuguese combines the verb ter (to have) with the preposition de, followed by an infinitive verb. If you forget the de, the verb ter just means 'to own' or possess something, which doesn't make sense right before the action of fighting.
Could I say temos que lutar instead?
Yes, you can! In everyday spoken Portuguese, you will hear both ter de and ter que used interchangeably to mean 'have to'. While ter de is traditionally taught as the more formally correct choice for strong obligations, ter que is extremely common and perfectly natural to use.
Do we really need the word Nós at the beginning of the sentence?
No, it is completely optional. The verb ending in temos already tells the listener that the subject is 'we'. Including Nós simply adds a bit of emphasis, as if saying 'We are the ones who have to fight'.

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