Breakdown of Tu precisas de calcular o dobro exato da farinha.
tu
you
do
of the / from the (contracted)
precisar de
to need
a farinha
the flour
Questions & Answers about Tu precisas de calcular o dobro exato da farinha.
Why do we say o dobro da instead of just dobro farinha?
In Portuguese, multipliers like dobro (double) or triplo (triple) act as masculine nouns. Because of this, they take the definite article o (the) and connect to the next word with the preposition de (of). Here, de combines with a farinha to make da farinha.
Can I just say precisas calcular without the de?
In European Portuguese, no. The verb precisar (to need) requires the preposition de before another verb in the infinitive, like calcular. While Brazilian Portuguese often drops the de, in Portugal it is required.
Why is exato placed after dobro?
In Portuguese, adjectives generally come after the noun they describe. Since dobro acts as a noun in this sentence, the adjective exato (exact) naturally follows it.
I have sometimes seen exacto written with a c. Is exato also correct?
Yes! Under the modern Portuguese spelling agreement, silent consonants were removed. Because the c in exacto is completely silent in European Portuguese, the standard spelling is now exato.