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Often in English, I use constructions such as "to which", "by which", "from which", "with which". For example, in the story The Mortal Immortal by Mary Shelley, there is the sentence "[I] laughed at the superstitious fears with which he was regarded by the vulgar". Here are a few more examples:

  1. You can use my lantern with which you will see the light.
  2. I will withdraw to a place in which there is only sorrow.

Is there some table or reference that explains how to translate these into Brazilian Portuguese?

Jason Polak
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2 Answers2

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with which, by which, in which etc., will depend on an antecedent noun, because in Portuguese the word qual agrees in gender and number. There are many other prepositions that could be used. But these are a start.

  • These are the hands with which I till the soil.

  • Essas são as mãos com as quais cultivo a terra. [plural, feminine]

  • The clock by which I tell time is there.

  • O relogio pelo qual sei que horas são está lá. [singular, masculine]

So: as quais, os quais, a qual, o qual

for in which, it's no qual, nos quais, na qual and nas quais

for by which, it's pelo qual, pelos quais, pela qual and pelas quais

Of course, there are others like: from or of which, which is just do qual, dos quais, da qual, das quais.

So, that's how it works. I did not provide an example of every one. Just the pattern. My sample sentences are not the best possible ones but they get the point across.

Lambie
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With the right prepositions + "a/o qual".

For example: "Você pode usar a minha lanterna com a qual você verá a luz"

You can also use: no/na qual, do/da qual, pelo/pela qual etc!

Ergative Man
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