Phrase · 🥊 Arguing & persuading
Quanto mais cedo agirmos, menores serão os prejuízos.
The sooner we act, the smaller the losses will be.
C1expressing attitudesAudio · coming soon
Why every word is where it is
Quanto1adverbthemais1adverbmorecedoadverbearlyagirmos2verbwe actagir · subjunctive · future · 1st pl.,menores3adjectivesmallermenor · masc. · pl.serão3verbwill beser · future · 3rd pl.osdeterminertheo · masc. · pl. · definiteprejuízos4nounlossesprejuízo · masc. · pl..
- Quanto → menores: correlative
- serão → prejuízos: subject–verb
- menores → prejuízos: agreement
Why it's built this way
The notes match the numbers above.
- 1Quanto mais …, menores …: a correlative with no articles (never o quanto). Stylistic inversion & emphatic word order →
- 2agirmos: future subjunctive for a future action. Future subjunctive: uses →
- 3Fronted predicate: menores serão os prejuízos, with the verb before its subject. Stylistic inversion & emphatic word order →
- 4False friend: prejuízo = "loss, damage", not "prejudice" (preconceito).
Variations
- Quanto antes agirmos, menores serão os prejuízos.