Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Se continuarmos a chegar tarde, a polícia poderá multar-nos; por isso, tenho tentado sair mais cedo. - If we keep arriving late, the police may fine us; therefore, I have been trying to leave earlier.

In Portuguese, when you introduce a future or hypothetical condition with se, you typically use the present subjunctive instead of the indicative. So continuarmos is the subjunctive form of continuar (“to continue”), paired with se to express “if we continue.”

What is the role of a before chegar, and when do we use this construction?

Portuguese verbs like continuar, começar, ajudar and a few others are followed by a + infinitive. Here continuar a chegar means “to continue arriving.” You cannot drop the a in European Portuguese; the pattern is:

continuar a + infinitive
começar a + infinitive
ajudar a + infinitive

Why is multar-nos written with a hyphen and the pronoun at the end? Could I say nos multar instead?

Portuguese uses enclisis (attaching the pronoun after the verb with a hyphen) in affirmative clauses when the verb is at the beginning of the clause or follows certain punctuation (here, a comma). Hence poderá multar-nos. In European Portuguese, nos multar (proclisis) is only used if you have a negative word, question word, or conjunction before the verb.

Why is there a semicolon before por isso, and what does por isso signify?

The semicolon links two closely related independent clauses more strongly than a period would. por isso is a conjunctive adverb meaning for that reason or therefore. You could also use a comma or start a new sentence, but the semicolon emphasizes the direct cause-and-effect relationship.

Why is tenho tentado used instead of tento or estou a tentar?

tento (present indicative) states a general habit: “I try.”
estou a tentar (progressive) highlights an action happening right now.
tenho tentado (present perfect) indicates repeated or continuous attempts up to the present. Here, it stresses that you’ve been trying several times to leave earlier.

Why does the sentence use a polícia with a definite article?

In Portuguese, most singular, countable nouns require a definite article. So a polícia (“the police”) is standard. Omitting the article (just polícia) sounds odd unless you speak very telegraphically or in headlines.

Why use poderá instead of a more definite future like vai multar-nos?

poderá is the simple future of poder, meaning may or might. It expresses possibility. Saying a polícia vai multar-nos (“the police is going to fine us”) would imply near-certainty, whereas poderá multar-nos keeps it conditional on your continued lateness.