Introduction

Relevance of the topic

Regency and crasis are crucial concepts in Portuguese, structuring how ideas are expressed and the relationships between terms in a sentence. Properly understood and applied, they allow you to be an effective communicator in the Portuguese language. Regency and crasis directly influence the construction of meaning and can interfere with reading and writing comprehension if used improperly.

Contextualization

Within the Portuguese curriculum, regency and crasis are topics usually addressed at the end of High School, when you already have a solid foundation in the language and are ready to understand the more complex aspects of grammar. Verbal and nominal regency represent a deepening in syntactic studies, while crasis is a specific case of graphic accentuation closely linked to regency. Together, these two areas form the basis for constructing correct and coherent sentences and texts. Moreover, the study of crasis is intrinsically related to normative grammar, which is essential for activities such as writing. Therefore, understanding regency and crasis is a fundamental step to enhance your linguistic skills and ensure clear and precise communication.

Theoretical Development

Components

• Verbal Regency: Verbal regency deals with the connection between the verb and its complements. In a sentence, the verb, which is the nucleus of the predicate, will require the use of one or more complements to complete its meaning. These complements can be:

  • Direct Object: The complement that directly receives the action of the verb, without the need for a preposition.
  • Indirect Object: The complement that receives the action of the verb indirectly, requiring the presence of a preposition.

• Nominal Regency: Nominal regency, in turn, deals with the connection between a name (noun, adjective, or adverb) and its complements. Just like in the case of verbal regency, the name will require the use of one or more complements to complete its meaning. These complements can be:

  • Nominal Complement: It is the term that completes the meaning of a name, which can be a noun, an adjective, or even an adverb, through a preposition.

• Crase: Crasis is the fusion of two identical vowels, represented by the grave accent. In Portuguese, crasis is used mainly to indicate the contraction of the preposition "a" with the feminine article "a". However, the occurrence of crasis is not mandatory whenever we have the preposition "a" followed by the feminine article "a". Crasis only occurs when the preposition "a" meets feminine words that admit the article, i.e., feminine nouns that do not have a generic sense term.

Key Terms

• Verb: Word that expresses a state, an action, or a natural phenomenon.
• Name: Word used to designate beings, actions, states, qualities, among others.
• Crase: Grave accent (`) that indicates the fusion of the preposition "a" with the definite feminine article "a".

Examples and Cases

• Verbal Regency: In the example "She left from home", "left" is the direct transitive verb, which requires a direct object to complete its meaning, directly linked to it, without the need for a preposition.
• Nominal Regency: In the example "I need help", "need" is the name accompanied by a nominal complement "help", which completes the meaning of the name through a preposition.
• Crase: In the example "I'm going to school", crasis occurs because the preposition "a" is meeting the feminine noun "school", which requires the definite feminine article "a".

Detailed Summary

Relevant Points

• Concept of Regency: Regency, both verbal and nominal, deals with the relationships that the word establishes with the other words in the sentence. It is the way the verb or the name requires the presence of a complement. The ability to master regency is essential for grammatical correctness and precise understanding of what is read.

• Verbal Regency: The verb, as the nucleus of the predicate, requires the presence of complements so that its meaning is complete. These complements can be the Direct Object, which does not need a preposition to connect to the verb, and the Indirect Object, which requires a preposition.

• Nominal Regency: Names, such as nouns, adjectives, and adverbs, also depend on complements, called Nominal Complements, for their meaning to be complete. The difference is that Nominal Complements are always linked to the name by means of a preposition.

• Crase: Crasis, marked by the grave accent (`), is the contraction of the preposition "a" with the feminine article "a". Its occurrence is regulated by some rules and requires the speaker/writer's attention.

Conclusions

• The correct application of verbal and nominal regency is essential for a good understanding of the written text, as well as for the production of a coherent text. Regency errors can lead to misunderstandings and interfere with the quality of communication.

• The use of crasis is governed by rules and requires an understanding of underlying concepts, such as those of preposition and definite feminine article. Therefore, its proper use is an indicator of mastery of the language.

Proposed Exercises

1. Verbal Regency: Identify the regency of the verb in the following sentences:

   • "Everyone watched the movie yesterday."
   • "The teachers disagreed with the new evaluation policy."
   • "We must trust the team's work."

2. Nominal Regency: Find the Nominal Complement in the following sentences:

   • "I found the smell of roses in the room strange."
   • "She was anxious for good news."
   • "The grandfather was surprised by the grandson's attitude."

3. Crase: Indicate whether there is crasis and explain whether it is mandatory or not in the following sentences:

   • "He gave the book to the girl."
   • "Are we going to the beach tomorrow?"
   • "I'm looking for a new job."