Word
Eu tive que desmontar um móvel velho para abrir espaço para o guarda-roupa novo.
Meaning
I had to take apart an old piece of furniture to make room for the new wardrobe.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Lesson
Breakdown of Eu tive que desmontar um móvel velho para abrir espaço para o guarda-roupa novo.
eu
I
um
a
para
to
para
for
Questions & Answers about Eu tive que desmontar um móvel velho para abrir espaço para o guarda-roupa novo.
Why is it tive que instead of tenho que?
Tive que is the past tense of ter que, which means to have to.
- tenho que = I have to
- tive que = I had to
So in this sentence, the speaker is talking about something they had to do in the past.
A very common pattern is:
- ter que + infinitive
For example:
- Tenho que sair. = I have to leave.
- Tive que sair. = I had to leave.
Why does Portuguese use ter que for obligation?
In Brazilian Portuguese, ter que is one of the most common ways to express obligation, just like have to in English.
Structure:
- ter que + verb
Examples:
- Eu tenho que estudar.
- Ela teve que trabalhar.
- Nós vamos ter que esperar.
You may also hear precisar used in a similar way:
- Eu precisei desmontar... = I needed to take apart...
Both can work, but tive que often sounds a little more like a real obligation or necessity.
Why is desmontar in the infinitive form?