Reading a Fuel-Price Report
A Portuguese-language news bulletin reports: "O preço dos combustíveis subiu 12% no trimestre, mas o governo afirma que a inflação geral foi de apenas 4%. Os transportadores ameaçam greve caso o aumento não seja revisto." A student must write a short summary in Portuguese and then answer a comprehension question. The student writes: "Os transportadores já entraram em greve porque o preço subiu 12% e a inflação foi de 4%." The teacher marks the summary as inaccurate.
1. Identify the error in the student's summary and explain the correct reading of the text.
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Error: The student states the transporters já entraram em greve ('have already gone on strike'). The text says ameaçam greve - they threaten a strike, conditional on the increase not being revised (caso o aumento não seja revisto).
Correct reading:
- Fuel prices rose 12% in the quarter.
- The government claims general inflation was only 4%.
- Transporters threaten a strike if the increase is not revised.
The student confused a conditional threat with a completed action - a factual misreading, not a vocabulary issue.
2. Rewrite the summary in correct Portuguese, in one or two sentences, preserving the conditional meaning.
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Model rewrite:
"O preço dos combustíveis subiu 12% no trimestre, enquanto o governo afirma que a inflação geral foi de apenas 4%. Os transportadores ameaçam fazer greve se o aumento não for revisto."
Key grammar points preserved:
- enquanto contrasts the two figures;
- ameaçam fazer greve keeps the threat (not a completed strike);
- se o aumento não for revisto (future subjunctive) preserves the condition.
Using the future subjunctive (for) rather than the indicative is what signals a hypothetical condition in Portuguese.