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Hoje o Pedro chega a tempo ao trabalho.

Hoje o Pedro chega a tempo ao trabalho.
Today Pedro arrives at work on time.

Breakdown of Hoje o Pedro chega a tempo ao trabalho.

Pedro
Pedro
hoje
today
chegar
to arrive
o trabalho
the work
a tempo
on time
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Questions & Answers about Hoje o Pedro chega a tempo ao trabalho.

Why is there an o before Pedro?

In European Portuguese, it’s very common to put a definite article before a person’s first name:

  • o Pedro = Pedro (male)
  • a Maria = Maria (female)

This does not mean the Pedro in the English sense. It’s just a normal, natural way to refer to people.

You can also say Pedro without the article. Omitting the article often sounds:

  • a bit more formal or “written”, or
  • more typical of certain regions / speakers.

In everyday speech in Portugal, o Pedro is extremely common and perfectly normal.

What tense is chega, and can it refer to the future?

Chega is the present indicative, 3rd person singular of chegar (“to arrive” / “to get to”):

  • ele / ela / o Pedro chega = he / she / Pedro arrives / gets (there)

In Portuguese, the present tense plus a time expression (hoje, amanhã, etc.) can refer to:

  1. A habitual action

    • O Pedro chega sempre a tempo ao trabalho.
      “Pedro always arrives at work on time.”

  2. A specific future occurrence, especially when it’s planned or expected:

    • Hoje o Pedro chega a tempo ao trabalho.
      “Today Pedro (will) arrive on time at work.”

So even though it’s present tense, in context with hoje it can be understood as “will arrive” in English.

Why is it chega and not chegar or chegado?

  • chegar is the infinitive: “to arrive”

    • e.g. Gosto de chegar cedo. – “I like to arrive early.”

  • chega is the conjugated form for ele/ela/você/o Pedro in the present tense:

    • eu chego
    • tu chegas
    • ele / ela / você / o Pedro chega
    • nós chegamos
    • vocês / eles / elas chegam

  • chegado is the past participle:

    • Ele já tinha chegado. – “He had already arrived.”

In Hoje o Pedro chega a tempo ao trabalho, you need a finite verb for the subject o Pedro, so chega is the correct form.

Why does Portuguese use chegar a instead of something like “arrive in/at” with em?

In European Portuguese, the normal pattern is:

  • chegar a
    • destination
      • chegar a casa – arrive (at) home
      • chegar a Lisboa – arrive in Lisbon
      • chegar ao trabalho – arrive at work

So:

  • chega a tempo ao trabalho
    literally: “arrives in time to the work”

Using chegar em / no with a destination (chegar no trabalho) is Brazilian Portuguese, not standard in Portugal. In European Portuguese, chegar em / no sounds wrong or very foreign in this context.

What does a tempo literally mean, and is it the same as “on time”?

Literally, a tempo is “in time” (before it’s too late), but in everyday use it often corresponds closely to English “on time” (not late).

Meaning and use:

  • Chegar a tempo = arrive in time / arrive on time (not late)
  • Cheguei a tempo de apanhar o comboio. – “I arrived in time to catch the train.”

Nuance:

  • a tempo: “in time / not too late” (quite general)
  • a horas (EP): emphasizes “on time”, especially for schedules and punctuality:
    • Cheguei a horas ao trabalho. – “I got to work on time.”

In Hoje o Pedro chega a tempo ao trabalho, a tempo is very naturally understood as “on time” for work.

Why is it ao trabalho instead of just trabalho or no trabalho?

Breakdown:

  • a (preposition “to”) + o (definite article “the”) + trabalho (work)
    → ao trabalho = “to work / to the workplace”

With chegar, you want the destination, so:

  • chegar ao trabalho = “arrive at work”

Other options have different meanings:

  • no trabalho = em + o trabalho → “at work” (location, not movement)

    • Estou no trabalho. – “I am at work.”

  • Just trabalho (no article, no preposition) would be ungrammatical here after chegar; the verb needs its preposition: chegar a

    • place → chegar ao trabalho.

So ao trabalho is required here because of the verb chegar and because we’re talking about arriving to a place.

Can I change the word order, like O Pedro hoje chega a tempo ao trabalho?

Yes. Portuguese word order is fairly flexible, especially with time adverbs like hoje.

All of these are grammatically correct and natural (with slightly different emphasis):

  1. Hoje o Pedro chega a tempo ao trabalho.
    – Neutral, common; gives focus to “today” at the start.

  2. O Pedro hoje chega a tempo ao trabalho.
    – Focuses a bit more on Pedro, then adds today as extra information.

  3. O Pedro chega hoje a tempo ao trabalho.
    – Emphasizes “today” right before the verb.

  4. O Pedro chega a tempo ao trabalho hoje.
    – Keeps “today” at the end; can sound slightly more marked.

All of them are fine in European Portuguese; the choice is mostly about rhythm and subtle emphasis.

Could I drop the name and just say Hoje chega a tempo ao trabalho?

Grammatically, yes:

  • Hoje chega a tempo ao trabalho.

This means: “Today he/she/you arrive(s) at work on time.”

However:

  • It becomes ambiguous (we don’t know who “chega” refers to).
  • In practice, you’d usually only drop the subject if it’s very clear from the context who you are talking about (for example, if you were already talking about Pedro and it’s obvious).

More common possibilities:

  • Hoje ele chega a tempo ao trabalho. – “Today he arrives at work on time.”
  • Hoje o Pedro chega a tempo ao trabalho. – explicitly names Pedro.

So yes, you can omit the subject, but Portuguese speakers normally keep the name (or ele/ela) unless the context makes the subject obvious.

Could I use another verb, like vai or vem, instead of chega?

Not in the same way. The verbs don’t mean exactly the same:

  • chegar = to arrive / to get (somewhere)
    → focuses on the moment of arrival.

    • Hoje o Pedro chega a tempo ao trabalho. – He arrives on time.

  • ir (para) = to go (to)
    → focuses on movement towards a place, not arrival time.

    • Hoje o Pedro vai para o trabalho. – He is going to work (no idea if he’s late or early).

  • vir (para) = to come (to)
    → movement towards the speaker’s location.

    • If you are already at work:
      Hoje o Pedro vem a tempo para o trabalho. – “Today Pedro comes to work in time (to where I am).”

  • estar a chegar (EP) = to be arriving / to be getting there (progressive aspect)

    • O Pedro está a chegar ao trabalho. – “Pedro is arriving at work.”

To express “arrives on time (not late)”, chegar a tempo (ao trabalho) is the natural choice.

Is there any difference between European and Brazilian Portuguese for a sentence like this?

Yes, there are some typical differences:

  1. Preposition with “chegar”

    • European Portuguese: prefers chegar a
      • place
        • Hoje o Pedro chega a tempo ao trabalho.
    • Brazilian Portuguese (everyday speech): often uses chegar em / no
      • Hoje o Pedro chega no trabalho na hora.

  2. Progressive form (if you changed the sentence)

    • EP: estar a chegar – O Pedro está a chegar ao trabalho.
    • BP: estar chegando – O Pedro está chegando no trabalho.

  3. Expressions for “on time”

    • EP: a tempo, a horas, pontualmente
    • BP: na hora, no horário, em cima da hora (last one = “just in time / at the last minute”)

  4. Article with names

    • Both varieties can use o Pedro, but
      • It’s very typical and widespread in Portugal.
      • In Brazil, usage depends more on region and register (it’s not always used).

So “Hoje o Pedro chega a tempo ao trabalho” is very natural European Portuguese; a typical Brazilian version in speech might be something like “Hoje o Pedro chega no trabalho na hora”.