O sistema finalmente voltou.

to return

Breakdown of O sistema finalmente voltou.

• o sistema: the system
• finalmente: finally

Questions & Answers about O sistema finalmente voltou.

Why does the sentence start with o?

O is the masculine singular definite article, meaning the.

So:

• o sistema = the system

Portuguese uses definite articles very often, and here it works just like English the.

Why is it o sistema and not a sistema?

Because sistema is a masculine noun in Portuguese.

Even though many words ending in -a are feminine, sistema is one of the common exceptions. It comes from Greek-origin patterns, and many nouns ending in -ma are masculine in Portuguese, such as:

• o problema
• o tema
• o programa
• o sistema

So the correct article is o.

What does finalmente mean, and where does it go in the sentence?

Finalmente means finally.

In this sentence, it comes between the subject and the verb:

• O sistema finalmente voltou.

That placement is very natural in Portuguese.

You can also move it for emphasis, for example:

• Finalmente, o sistema voltou.
• O sistema voltou, finalmente.

All of these are possible, but O sistema finalmente voltou sounds very normal and neutral.

What tense is ?