Breakdown of Apesar do ciúme, é bom que ela não traia o marido.
ser
to be
não
not / no
ela
she
bom
good
que
that (conjunction)
apesar de
despite
o marido
the husband
o ciúme
the jealousy
trair
to betray
Questions & Answers about Apesar do ciúme, é bom que ela não traia o marido.
Why do we use the subjunctive form traia instead of the indicative trai here?
The phrase é bom que (it is good that) is an impersonal expression showing an emotion, opinion, or judgment. These types of expressions in Portuguese always trigger the subjunctive in the following clause.
What is the infinitive of traia, and how is this form built?
The infinitive is trair (to betray). To form the present subjunctive, you take the 'I' form of the present indicative (eu traio), drop the '-o', and add the opposite vowel ending. For an '-ir' verb like trair, you use '-a' endings. So, for ela, it becomes traia.
The English translation says 'her husband', but the Portuguese just says o marido (the husband). Why is the possessive missing?
In Portuguese, when referring to close family members or body parts, you usually just use the definite article (o or a) instead of a possessive like o seu. Because it is obvious from the context that she wouldn't be betraying someone else's husband, o marido is perfectly natural and correct.
Why does the sentence start with Apesar do instead of just Apesar de?
The phrase for 'despite' or 'in spite of' is apesar de. Because ciúme (jealousy) is a masculine noun that requires the definite article o, the preposition de merges with o to become the contraction do.
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