Assessing evidence and explanations in Portuguese

Level B2

Assessing evidence and explanations in Portuguese

This lesson helps you ask what evidence supports a claim, spot assumptions, and compare possible explanations without overstating certainty. Here, o senhor marks respectful address to a man; use a senhora for a woman. Você is everyday address in much of Brazil and can also be used professionally. All three take third-person singular verbs. Pra, tá and a gente give the informal examples a conversational tone; a gente means “we” and takes a singular verb. English “you” does not encode the address distinction shown here.

Words for evidence and explanations

Ask what supports a claim

Use sustentar to say that evidence supports a claim or explanation, and name any limit on the evidence. In formal speech, ask “Que evidências o senhor tem para sustentar a afirmação...?”; informally, “Em que você se baseia pra fazer essa afirmação...?” English “you” does not show the same formality distinction, so choose the Portuguese form for your relationship with the listener.

Que evidências o senhor/você tem para sustentar a afirmação de que resultado? / Evidências disponíveis sustentam explicação, mas limitação.

Point out an assumption

Use partir do pressuposto de que to identify an idea someone is taking for granted. For example: “O senhor está partindo do pressuposto de que o prédio foi usado com a mesma intensidade nos dois meses.” With someone you address informally, use “Você tá partindo de um pressuposto...”; tá and você are conversational choices, while o senhor is more formal.

Separate association from cause

An association means two things vary together; it does not by itself show that one caused the other. Say “Há uma associação, mas ainda não comprovamos a causalidade...” when the causal link is not established. English also distinguishes association from cause, but Portuguese lets you name the specific idea with associação and causalidade. “Esses números mostram...” can occur in either register; the conversational tone comes from the surrounding wording.

Qualify a possible cause

Use “podem ser uma das causas” to present something as a possible contributor, not a proven explanation. Add what remains unknown: “...mas ainda não podemos dizer quanto contribuíram.” In informal conversation, “a gente não sabe quanto elas ajudaram” sounds more natural; a gente takes a singular verb in Brazilian Portuguese, unlike English “we.”

Fator possível pode ser uma das causas de resultado, mas ainda não sabemos limite do que se sabe sobre sua contribuição.

Compare plausible explanations

“Será que...?” raises a possibility, and seria makes the proposed explanation tentative. “Talvez... seja...” also offers an alternative without claiming certainty. Both strategies occur in formal and informal conversation; they do not themselves mark the register contrast. In this example, talvez introduces the subjunctive seja, whereas English “maybe” does not require a subjunctive form.

Será que explicação alternativa seria mais plausível? / Talvez explicação alternativa seja mais plausível.

Review the evidence formally

This exchange uses o senhor for respectful address to a man, together with careful, complete phrasing. The speakers identify a limitation, name an assumption, and withhold a causal conclusion. This style suits a professional review when respectful distance is appropriate, although você is also common in Brazilian workplaces.

Review the evidence informally

This exchange uses você, a gente, pra and tá for a familiar, conversational discussion. The speakers still distinguish evidence from proof and leave room for uncertainty; informal wording does not make the reasoning less careful. Use it with people you normally address informally.

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