Question 1

Why do we need não before the verb when nem... nem already means "neither... nor"?

Accepted Answer

In Portuguese, if the nem... nem structure comes after the verb, you must make the verb itself negative by adding não. A word-for-word English translation like Esta oferta é nem... sounds completely wrong in Portuguese. You have to say, literally, "This offer is not neither fair nor unacceptable."

Question 2

If the nem... nem part came at the beginning of a sentence, would we still need não?

Accepted Answer

No. If nem... nem comes before the verb (which usually happens when you are connecting two subjects), the não is dropped. For example: Nem a oferta A nem a oferta B são justas (Neither offer A nor offer B are fair). Because our example sentence puts the adjectives after the verb, the não is required.

Question 3

Both adjectives describe the feminine noun oferta. Why does justa end in 'a' while inaceitável doesn't change?

Accepted Answer

Adjectives that end in -o change to -a to agree with feminine nouns, so justo becomes justa. However, adjectives ending in -l, like inaceitável or fácil, are uniform, meaning they have the exact same form for both masculine and feminine nouns.

Question 4

Why do we use é (from the verb ser) instead of está (from estar) to describe this offer?

Accepted Answer

We use ser because the fairness and acceptability of the terms are seen as inherent, defining characteristics of this specific offer, rather than a temporary state or condition that might change tomorrow.

Esta oferta não é nem justa nem inaceitável.

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