Learn Portuguese (Portugal): O caminho mais longo passa pelo bairro mais pobre. - The longest path passes through the poorest neighborhood.

O caminho mais longo passa pelo bairro mais pobre.

The longest path passes through the poorest neighborhood.

Breakdown of O caminho mais longo passa pelo bairro mais pobre.

through / by / for / because of

o caminho

the path / the way

Questions & Answers about O caminho mais longo passa pelo bairro mais pobre.

How do we form 'the longest' in this sentence?

In Portuguese, you form the relative superlative ('the most...' or '-est') by using the definite article (o or a), the noun, mais, and then the adjective. So 'the longest path' translates literally as 'the path most long': o caminho + mais + longo.

Where is the word for 'the' in 'the poorest neighborhood'?

It is built into the word pelo. The phrase 'the poorest neighborhood' on its own is o bairro mais pobre. However, because the verb passar (to pass) uses the preposition por (through), we combine por + o to get pelo. That hidden o serves as the 'the' for the superlative.

Why do we use pelo to mean 'through the' instead of another word?

The verb passar strongly pairs with the preposition por to mean 'to pass by' or 'to pass through' a physical place. When you combine por with the masculine article o (for the noun bairro), it must contract to form pelo.

Could I change the word order to o mais longo caminho?

It is grammatically possible, but it sounds very poetic or formal. In everyday Portuguese, the noun almost always comes before mais and the adjective, exactly as we see here with o caminho mais longo and o bairro mais pobre.