Breakdown of É importante que salves as espécies.
ser
to be
importante
important
que
that (conjunction)
salvar
to save
a espécie
the species
Questions & Answers about É importante que salves as espécies.
Why does the verb change to salves instead of using the normal present tense salvas?
The phrase starts with É importante que (It's important that). This is an impersonal expression showing an opinion or value judgment, which triggers the present subjunctive (o presente do conjuntivo). For regular -ar verbs like salvar (to save), the subjunctive swaps the characteristic a for an e. So, the tu form becomes salves.
Where is the word for "you" in this sentence?
In Portuguese, subject pronouns are often dropped because the verb ending already tells us who is doing the action. The -s ending on salves tells us this is the tu (informal you) form. If you wanted to emphasize who needs to do the saving, you could add it: É importante que tu salves as espécies.
In English, "species" is the same word whether it's singular or plural. Is it the same in Portuguese?
Does espécie only refer to biological species of animals or plants?
It definitely means biological species, but it is also used very often to mean a "kind" or "sort" in everyday conversation. For example, you might hear uma espécie de bolo (a kind of cake).
Learn É importante que salves as espécies 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