Breakdown of É bom que a paixão não morra com o tempo.
ser
to be
não
not / no
bom
good
com
with
o tempo
the time
que
that (conjunction)
morrer
to die
a paixão
the passion
Questions & Answers about É bom que a paixão não morra com o tempo.
Why is morra in the subjunctive here instead of the normal present tense?
The phrase É bom que (It is good that) expresses a feeling, opinion, or judgment. In Portuguese, these types of expressions act as a trigger, forcing the verb in the second part of the sentence into the subjunctive mood. Because we are expressing an ongoing or future hope, we use the present subjunctive morra.
Since morrer is an -er verb, why does it end with an "a" in morra?
That is the core rule of forming the present subjunctive! You essentially swap the regular vowel endings. Verbs ending in -er (like morrer) and -ir take -a endings in the present subjunctive, while -ar verbs take -e endings. So the regular present tense morre (dies) becomes morra.
Why do we need the article o in com o tempo when the English translation just says "with time"?
In Portuguese, you generally need to use definite articles (o, a, os, as) before abstract concepts or general nouns, even when English drops them. So while English just says "with time," Portuguese requires com o tempo (literally "with the time").
If I wanted to say "over time" instead of "with time", could I translate that literally?
You shouldn't try to translate "over" literally here. If you used something like sobre o tempo, a Portuguese speaker would think you were talking "about the weather" or "about time" as a subject of conversation. To express "over time" or "as time passes," com o tempo is the most natural everyday choice, though you will also hear ao longo do tempo.
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