Breakdown of É uma pena que a fábrica polua a água.
ser
to be
um
a / an / some (all forms)
a água
the water
que
that (conjunction)
a fábrica
the factory
a pena
the pity
poluir
to pollute
Questions & Answers about É uma pena que a fábrica polua a água.
Why is the verb polua instead of the regular present tense polui?
The phrase É uma pena que (It's a pity that) expresses an opinion or an emotion. In Portuguese, impersonal expressions that show valuation, emotion, or doubt trigger the subjunctive mood in the following verb. Because of this, the normal present tense polui changes to the present subjunctive polua.
What is the infinitive of polua, and how is this subjunctive form made?
The infinitive is poluir (to pollute). To form the present subjunctive, you generally start with the "I" form of the normal present tense, which is eu poluo (I pollute). For -ir verbs, you drop the -o and add -a for the he/she/it form, giving us polua.
Does pena literally mean pity?
Yes, in this context pena means sorrow, pity, or compassion (though it can also mean feather). The fixed expression É uma pena is the most common and natural way to say "It's a shame" or "It's a pity" in Portuguese.
Why does the word fábrica have an accent mark?
The acute accent tells us to place the spoken stress on the first syllable: FÁ-bri-ca. Without the accent, the stress would naturally fall on the second-to-last syllable (fa-BRI-ca), which is actually a completely different word: the he/she/it present tense form of the verb fabricar (to manufacture).
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