Together or separately: tips for understanding why

Portuguese is said to be a complicated language, full of difficult and meaningless rules. What we can say is that facing it in this way already creates a block that hinders the understanding of information that may be quite simple.

So instead of delving into complex explanations, let's look at an easy trick to ending one of humanity's biggest problems: Is this “why” together or apart? Many people have heard at some point that separate "why" is used in questions, and "why" together in answers. Just forget about it and see when to use each one.

Why

The "why" together is used when it is related to the cause of any situation:

  • Brazil is hot because it is a tropical country.

And it can turn into a question:

  • Is Brazil hot because it is a tropical country?

It is also linked to the explanation of something:

  • Brazil is a tropical country because most of its area is among the tropics.

Why

The separate "why" is used when it can be replaced by " by which ", " by which " or its plural forms:

  • I don't know why Brazil is tropical.
  • I don't know why Brazil is tropical.

Or when it can be replaced by “ for which ”:

  • I don't know why Brazil is tropical.
  • I don't know why Brazil is tropical.

When you can enter the word “motive” next to it without changing the meaning of the sentence:

  • Why is Brazil tropical?
  • Why is Brazil tropical?
  • I don't know why Brazil is tropical.
  • I don't know why Brazil is tropical.
  • Why complicate?

In short, because it 's only one word, and why it's two, right? Then, the first can be replaced by a word, the "for", and the second, always with more than one:

  • Brazil is hot because it is a tropical country.
  • Brazil is a tropical country because most of its area is among the tropics.
  • I don't know why Brazil is tropical.
  • I don't know why Brazil is tropical.

And now, is it easier? So let's go to the next step: the accent.

Why

This form has the same meaning as the "why", but is only used before the comma or period.

  • Brazil is tropical, but I don't know why .
  • Brazil is tropical, but I don't know why .
  • I don't know why, but Brazil is tropical.

Because

Unlike the previous case, this form is not used in cases similar to those that ask the "why" together and without accent. The "why" is used when it can be replaced by the word "reason" and usually has the article "o" in front of it and the preposition "of" after:

  • Brazil is tropical, and that is why it is hot.
  • Brazil is tropical, and that is why it is hot.

Did you find it difficult? Leave your questions in the comments.