Breakdown of Nós não vamos àquela montanha-russa porque é muito assustadora.
ser
to be
não
not / no
nós
we
muito
much / very
ir
to go
porque
because
àquele
to that [over there] (m) (f. àquela, etc.)
a montanha-russa
the roller coaster
assustador
scary
Questions & Answers about Nós não vamos àquela montanha-russa porque é muito assustadora.
Why does àquela have an accent mark pointing to the left?
This is a contraction. The verb vamos (from ir, meaning to go) requires the preposition a (to). Here, a combines with the demonstrative word aquela (that). Instead of writing a aquela, the two words merge into àquela. The grave accent tells us this combination has happened.
Why is the adjective assustadora instead of assustador?
Adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe. Montanha-russa (roller coaster) is a feminine noun, so the adjective takes its feminine form. You drop the default masculine ending or just add an -a to the end of words like assustador to become assustadora.
Why doesn't the sentence say porque ela é (because it is)?
Portuguese often drops subject pronouns when the context makes it obvious who or what is performing the action. Since we were just talking about the montanha-russa, it is perfectly clear what the word é (is) refers to, so the pronoun ela (it/she) isn't needed.
Does montanha-russa literally mean "Russian mountain"?
Yes! In Portuguese, a roller coaster is literally called a "Russian mountain." This traces back to the 17th-century Russian ice slides that inspired modern roller coasters.
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