Breakdown of Comunicar bem com os colegas é essencial.
ser
to be
bem
well / fine
com
with
o colega
the colleague
essencial
essential
comunicar
to communicate
Questions & Answers about Comunicar bem com os colegas é essencial.
Why does the sentence use the infinitive Comunicar instead of a word ending in -ndo, since the English translation is "Communicating"?
In Portuguese, when an action functions as the noun or subject of a sentence, you use the infinitive (comunicar). The gerund form ending in -ndo is typically reserved for actions that are actively ongoing in the moment, much like "is communicating".
Why is there an os before colegas if the English translation is just "colleagues"?
Portuguese usually requires definite articles (o, a, os, as) when talking about nouns in a general sense. Here, os colegas refers to colleagues generally. English drops the article for general plural nouns, but Portuguese keeps it.
How would I change this sentence to say "Communicating well with each other is essential"?
You would replace com os colegas with the reciprocal expression uns com os outros. The sentence would become: Comunicar bem uns com os outros é essencial. Notice that the preposition com splits the expression, sitting between uns and os outros.
Could I use the personal infinitive comunicarmos here instead?
Yes! The sentence currently uses the impersonal infinitive (comunicar) to make a broad, general statement. If you wanted to specifically say "It is essential that we communicate well" (literally "Our communicating well"), you would use the personal infinitive for "we" and say Comunicarmos bem com os colegas é essencial.
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