Breakdown of Se chegares tarde, terás de esperar junto ao portão.
Questions & Answers about Se chegares tarde, terás de esperar junto ao portão.
Se is a conjunction meaning “if.” It introduces the condition under which the main clause applies.
Example: Se chegares tarde → “If you arrive late.”
In European Portuguese, clauses introduced by se that refer to future possibilities take the future subjunctive, not the future indicative. The form for tu is:
– Future subjunctive of chegar: chegares
Using chegarás here would break the rule for conditional constructions.
– ter de + infinitive expresses obligation (“to have to do something”).
– esperarás would only mean “you will wait,” without the sense of “having to.”
– terás esperar is ungrammatical because ter requires the preposition de before another verb.
So terás de esperar = “you will have to wait.”
– junto a means “next to” or “by” (immediate adjacency).
– portão is masculine singular with the article o, so a + o contracts to ao.
Thus junto ao portão = “next to the gate.”
Both express proximity, but:
• junto a(o) → right next to, literally touching or immediately adjacent.
• perto de → close to, nearby but not necessarily adjacent.
Here tarde is an adverb meaning “late.” Clues:
- It follows the verb chegares directly.
- There’s no article (a tarde) before it.
If it were a noun (“the afternoon”), you’d see the article: (a) tarde.
Portuguese typically drops subject pronouns when the verb ending alone clearly marks the person.
– chegares = second person singular (tu)
– terás = second person singular (tu)
Including tu is optional and usually used only for emphasis or clarity.
The tilde (~) over ã marks a nasal vowel.
– portão is pronounced roughly /poɾˈtɐ̃w̃/ (“por-tawng”).
– Your mouth shape stays open and the air flows through your nose on ã.