O segundo tempo terminou em empate.

Because tempo is a masculine singular noun, so it normally takes the masculine singular article o when you mean the second half.

• o = the
• segundo = second
• tempo = literally time, but in sports it often means half or period

So o segundo tempo = the second half.

In headlines or very informal contexts, Portuguese sometimes drops articles, but in a normal sentence, o segundo tempo sounds most natural.

Yes, tempo often means time, but in sports it can also mean a period of play.

In Brazilian Portuguese:

• primeiro tempo = first half
• segundo tempo = second half

This is very common in sports like soccer. So in this sentence, tempo is not just abstract time—it means a section of the match.

Because segundo agrees with tempo, and tempo is masculine.

Portuguese adjectives and ordinal numbers usually agree in gender and number with the noun they describe:

• o segundo tempo — masculine singular
• a segunda etapa — feminine singular
• os segundos tempos — masculine plural

So it is segundo because tempo is masculine.

Terminou is the preterite (simple past) of terminar.

• terminar = to end / to finish
• terminou = ended / finished

It describes a completed action in the past: the second half ended.

A quick conjugation example:

• eu terminei
• você/ele/ela terminou
• nós terminamos
• eles terminaram

Here, em is part of a common pattern with terminar:

• terminar em vitória = to end in victory
• terminar em derrota = to end in defeat
• terminar em empate = to end in a draw

So em is the natural preposition used to express the result or outcome.

English often uses in in a similar way: ended in a draw.

Because empate is a noun, while empatado is an adjective/past participle.

• empate = a draw / a tie
• empatado = tied / level

In terminou em empate, the structure uses a noun after em:

• ended in a draw

A different but also natural sentence would be:

• O segundo tempo terminou empatado.
  • literally: The second half ended tied

Both are correct, but the grammar is different.

Yes. Acabar can also be used in a similar way.

• terminou em empate
• acabou em empate

Both can mean ended in a draw.
However, terminar is especially straightforward and common for describing how a game, half, or event ended.

Another common option is:

• O segundo tempo acabou empatado.

Mostly, yes. In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, primeiro tempo and segundo tempo are strongly associated with sports, especially soccer.

Outside sports, if you mean the second part of something more generally, people might say:

• a segunda parte
• a segunda etapa
• a segunda metade

So segundo tempo sounds very natural in a match context.

Yes. In Brazilian Portuguese, empate covers both ideas.

Depending on the variety of English:

• British English often prefers draw
• American English often prefers tie

So empate can match either one.

Examples:

• O jogo terminou em empate. = The game ended in a draw/tie.
• Houve um empate. = There was a draw/tie.

A natural approximate pronunciation is:

oo seh-GOON-doo TEM-po ter-mee-NO-oo eyn em-PA-chee

A few helpful notes:

• segundo: the g is a hard g sound
• tempo: the em is nasal
• terminou: stress is on the last syllable -nou
• empate: in many Brazilian accents, final -te sounds like chee, so it may sound like em-PA-chee

A more Brazilian-style approximation would be: u se-GUN-du TEM-pu ter-mi-NÔW ĩ em-PA-ti / em-PA-tchi

Pronunciation varies by region, but that should help you recognize it.

Because after terminar em, Portuguese often uses the result noun in a general sense, without an article:

• terminou em empate
• terminou em vitória
• terminou em derrota

This is similar to saying ended in victory or ended in defeat in English.

You might see an article in other structures, but here the zero article is the normal choice.

Yes, that is grammatically correct, but it is not exactly the same in tone or usage.

• o segundo tempo is the standard sports expression for the second half
• a segunda etapa means the second stage/phase/part

In some contexts, especially formal or non-soccer contexts, segunda etapa works well. But for a soccer match, segundo tempo is usually the most idiomatic choice.

No, the word order is very normal for Portuguese:

• O segundo tempo = subject
• terminou = verb
• em empate = prepositional phrase showing the result

So the structure is:

Subject + verb + result phrase

This is a very common pattern in Portuguese and sounds completely natural.