Breakdown of É difícil encontrar um alojamento quando há outro imprevisto.
ser
to be
um
a / an / some (all forms)
haver
to be (there is / there are)
quando
when
difícil
difficult
encontrar
to find
outro
other
o imprevisto
the unforeseen event
o alojamento
the accommodation
Questions & Answers about É difícil encontrar um alojamento quando há outro imprevisto.
Why isn't there a preposition like de or a between difícil and encontrar?
When using the impersonal structure "It is + [adjective] + [verb]", Portuguese connects the adjective directly to the infinitive. So, "It is difficult to find" is simply É difícil encontrar. You only use the preposition de if you are describing a specific noun acting as the subject (for example, Este alojamento é difícil de encontrar = This accommodation is difficult to find).
In English, "accommodation" is usually uncountable. Why does it use um here?
The translation says "another unforeseen event". Why isn't it translated as um outro imprevisto?
In Portuguese, the word outro (or outra) already translates directly to "another". English speakers often want to add um or uma before it, but doing so is redundant. You just need outro imprevisto.
Is imprevisto an adjective or a noun in this sentence?
Here, it functions as a noun meaning "an unforeseen event" or "an unexpected problem". It is built from the past participle of the verb prever (to foresee) combined with the negative prefix im-.
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