Breakdown of Eles não têm nem a vantagem nem o dinheiro.
não
not / no
eles
they (m)
ter
to have
o dinheiro
the money
nem
nor, not even
a vantagem
the advantage
Questions & Answers about Eles não têm nem a vantagem nem o dinheiro.
Why is there a não before the verb if nem... nem already means neither... nor?
Why does the verb têm have a circumflex accent mark here?
The circumflex accent marks the third-person plural form of the verb. Eles têm means they have, whereas ele tem without the accent means he has. This is a very common spelling rule to watch out for, as it is the only thing showing whether the subject is singular or plural in writing.
Do I really need the articles a and o after nem?
Yes, because the sentence specifies the advantage and the money. Just like in English, if you are talking about specific items, you need the definite articles. If you dropped them to say nem vantagem nem dinheiro, it would mean they have neither advantage nor money in a broad, uncountable sense.
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