Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Quem tiver dúvidas depois da aula pode enviar‑me uma mensagem. - Whoever has doubts after class can send me a message.

ter (to have) → tiver (future subjunctive, 3rd person singular)
It’s used because we’re talking about a hypothetical situation in the future: whoever has questions later.

In European Portuguese, the future subjunctive is very common after words like:

quem (whoever) – quem tiver dúvidas
quando (when) – quando tiver dúvidas
se (if) – se tiver dúvidas

So quem tiver dúvidas literally means “whoever has doubts (at that future time)”.

Could we say Quem tem dúvidas depois da aula instead of Quem tiver dúvidas depois da aula?

You can say Quem tem dúvidas depois da aula, and people will understand, but:

Quem tiver dúvidas = more neutral / natural in this context, and clearly refers to future doubts (after the class that hasn’t finished yet).
Quem tem dúvidas can sound more like you’re talking about a general, habitual fact (people who usually have doubts) rather than after this specific class.

For a teacher talking about questions that may come up after today’s lesson, quem tiver dúvidas is the most idiomatic choice.

Why is the verb in Quem tiver dúvidas… pode enviar‑me in the singular (pode) and not podem?

Because the grammatical subject is quem, which is treated as singular in standard Portuguese.

Quem tiver dúvidas → literally “whoever has doubts” (whoever = one person, in grammar terms)
So we say quem… pode (3rd person singular), not quem… podem.

Even though in meaning it refers to anyone in the group (possibly many people), the verb still agrees with “quem” in the singular:

Quem quiser pode sair. – Whoever wants can leave.
Quem tiver dúvidas pode enviar‑me uma mensagem. – Whoever has questions can send me a message.

What’s the difference between Quem tiver dúvidas… and Se tiver dúvidas…?

Both are correct, but they focus slightly differently:

Quem tiver dúvidas…
- Literally “whoever has doubts…”
- Emphasizes the people who might have questions.
- Slightly more impersonal / general.
Se tiver dúvidas…
- Literally “if you have doubts…” (with an implied you).
- Sounds more directly addressed to the listener.

A teacher talking to a class could say either:

Quem tiver dúvidas depois da aula pode enviar‑me uma mensagem.
Se tiver dúvidas depois da aula, pode enviar‑me uma mensagem.

Both are very natural; the second one feels a bit more like speaking directly to “you”.

Where is “you” in this sentence? It looks like there is no subject pronoun.

There is no explicit “you”, but it’s understood from context.

Quem tiver dúvidas… literally means “whoever has doubts…”
In the classroom context, “whoever” = any of you students.

Portuguese very often drops subject pronouns when they’re obvious:

(Você) pode enviar‑me uma mensagem.
(Tu) podes enviar‑me uma mensagem.

Here, quem plays the role of “whoever (of you)”, so no explicit você or tu is needed.

Why is there a hyphen in enviar‑me?

In European Portuguese, unstressed object pronouns (like me, te, se, o, a, lhe, nos, vos, lhes, etc.) are often attached to verbs with a hyphen. This is called enclisis.

In this sentence:

Main verb: enviar (to send)
Pronoun: me (to me)
Combination: enviar‑me (send me)

The rule here is:

After an infinitive (enviar), you can attach the pronoun with a hyphen: enviar‑me.

So pode enviar‑me is a very standard European Portuguese structure.

Can we also say pode me enviar instead of pode enviar‑me?

In Brazilian Portuguese, pode me enviar is the most natural version.

In European Portuguese:

pode enviar‑me is the most standard written form.
pode‑me enviar is also possible (attaching to pode instead of enviar).
pode me enviar (without hyphen, pronoun before the verb) is heard in speech, but is less standard in formal writing in Portugal.

So:

Portugal (standard): Quem tiver dúvidas… pode enviar‑me uma mensagem.
Brazil (standard informal): Quem tiver dúvidas… pode me enviar uma mensagem.

Why is it depois da aula and not depois a aula?

Because depois needs the preposition de when it’s followed by a noun:

depois de
- noun / phrase

Then de + a aula contracts to da aula:

de + a = da → depois da aula

So:

✅ depois da aula = after the class
❌ depois a aula = incorrect
Also correct: depois de a aula (spelled out), but in normal writing you almost always contract to da.

What’s the difference between depois da aula and após a aula?

They both mean “after the class”, but the register is slightly different:

depois da aula
- Most common and neutral in everyday speech.
- Used all the time in conversation.
após a aula
- Sounds a bit more formal / written.
- Common in notices, written instructions, more formal texts.

A teacher speaking to students will almost always say depois da aula.

Why does dúvidas mean “questions” here? I thought dúvida was “doubt”.

Literally, dúvida = doubt.
But in educational contexts, dúvidas very often means “questions, things you’re not sure about”.

Teachers frequently say:

Têm dúvidas? – Any questions?
Alguma dúvida? – Any question? / Any doubt?
Se tiverem dúvidas, perguntem. – If you have questions, ask.

So in Quem tiver dúvidas depois da aula…, dúvidas is best translated as “questions” or “things you’re unsure about”, not “philosophical doubts”.

Is the word order Quem tiver dúvidas depois da aula pode enviar‑me uma mensagem fixed, or can we move parts around?

You can move things around quite freely. All of these are correct:

Quem tiver dúvidas depois da aula pode enviar‑me uma mensagem.
Quem tiver dúvidas pode enviar‑me uma mensagem depois da aula.
Depois da aula, quem tiver dúvidas pode enviar‑me uma mensagem.

The differences are only in focus / emphasis, not in basic meaning. Starting with Depois da aula slightly emphasizes the time first; starting with Quem tiver dúvidas emphasizes the people first.

Is pode here more like “can” or “may”? How polite is it?

Pode (3rd person singular of poder) can correspond to both “can” and “may”, depending on context.

In this sentence:

pode enviar‑me uma mensagem ≈ “can send me a message” / “may send me a message”

It’s polite and neutral, the kind of thing a teacher would naturally say to a class. It doesn’t sound harsh or too formal; it’s appropriate in almost any register.

Does uma mensagem refer to a specific type of message (text, email, WhatsApp), or is it general?

Uma mensagem is general. It can be:

an email (uma mensagem de e‑mail)
a text message / SMS (uma mensagem de texto / um SMS)
a WhatsApp / similar app message (uma mensagem no WhatsApp)
a message on some online platform.

In everyday speech, mandar / enviar uma mensagem usually means “send me a message by whatever channel we normally use”. The context (email? WhatsApp group?) clarifies the channel.

Could a native speaker say pode enviar‑me mensagem without uma?

In this specific sentence, with mensagem as a countable noun, the most natural is with the article:

✅ pode enviar‑me uma mensagem

You can sometimes drop the article in more telegraphic or informal speech (especially in Brazilian Portuguese) with some nouns, but:

pode enviar‑me mensagem sounds more natural in Brazilian speech than in European.
In European Portuguese, in a full sentence like this, “uma mensagem” is strongly preferred.

So for European Portuguese learners, keep the article: uma mensagem.

How would this sentence typically look in Brazilian Portuguese?

A very natural Brazilian version would be:

Quem tiver dúvidas depois da aula pode me enviar uma mensagem.

Main differences:

Pronoun position: pode me enviar (Brazil) vs pode enviar‑me (Portugal).
Hyphen: Brazilians usually don’t attach me to the verb with a hyphen in this structure.

Everything else (quem tiver dúvidas, depois da aula, uma mensagem) is perfectly fine in both varieties.