A votação terminou às oito, e os resultados saíram na rádio.

The voting ended at eight, and the results came out on the radio.

Breakdown of A votação terminou às oito, e os resultados saíram na rádio.

• e: and
• em: on
• o resultado: the result
• terminar: to end
• a rádio: the radio
• às: at
• oito: eight
• a votação: the voting
• sair: to come out

Questions & Answers about A votação terminou às oito, e os resultados saíram na rádio.

What exactly does votação mean here, and how is it different from voto or eleição?

Votação in this sentence means “the voting process / the act of voting” (the period when people are casting votes).

• votação = the act or process of voting; the “voting” itself (often as an event or time period).
  • A votação terminou às oito. = The voting (period) ended at eight.
• voto = an individual vote (what one person casts).
  • Ele deu o seu voto. = He cast his vote.
• eleição = the election as a political event/contest.
  • A eleição foi no domingo. = The election was on Sunday.

So: in this sentence, we’re talking about when the period of voting ended, not about a single vote or the whole election campaign.

Why do we say a votação and not just votação terminou às oito?

In European Portuguese, a definite article is usually used before a specific event or thing that both speaker and listener know about.

• A votação terminou às oito.
  → The specific voting (that we have in mind) ended at eight.

If you remove the article and say Votação terminou às oito, it sounds incomplete or like a note on a schedule or a headline, not like a normal sentence.

General idea: when you’d say “the” in English, you almost always need o / a / os / as in Portuguese:

• the voting → a votação
• the results → os resultados
• the radio → a rádio

Why is the past tense terminou used here, and not something like terminava? What’s the difference?

Terminou is the pretérito perfeito (simple past), used for a completed event at a specific point in time.

• A votação terminou às oito.
  → The voting ended at eight (clear end point, finished action).

Terminava is the pretérito imperfeito, used for:

• ongoing past actions,
• background descriptions,
• repeated/habitual past actions.

Using terminava here would sound odd, as if you’re describing a habit or background:

• A votação terminava às oito.
  → “The voting (usually) ended at eight” / “The voting used to end at eight.”
  (not the intended meaning here)

So terminou is correct because we’re talking about one specific, completed event.

Could we say A votação acabou às oito instead of terminou? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say A votação acabou às oito, and it’s natural.

Differences in feel:

• terminar = to end / to finish; a bit more neutral and formal.
• acabar = to end / to finish; very common in everyday speech, sometimes slightly more informal / colloquial.

In this context, both work:

• A votação terminou às oito. (more neutral)
• A votação acabou às oito. (very common in speech)

For a news report, terminou is slightly more typical; among friends, acabou is very frequent.

Why is it às oito with an accent and an s? What’s the difference between à, às, a, and as in time expressions?

Às here is a contraction: a + as → às.

• a = preposition “to/at”.
• as = feminine plural article “the”.
• às = “at the” (feminine plural).

Time expressions in Portuguese are usually feminine plural (because of horas):

• às oito (horas) = at eight o’clock (literally: at the eight hours).

Forms:

• à = a + a (at the, feminine singular).
• às = a + as (at the, feminine plural – used with hours).
• a (no accent) = just the preposition “to/at”.
• as (no accent) = the article “the” (feminine plural) or the pronoun “them”.

So for times like 2, 3, 5, 8, you use às:

• às duas, às três, às cinco, às oito, etc.

Why don’t we say às oito horas explicitly? Is it normal to leave out horas?

Yes, it’s completely normal, and very common, to drop horas when the context is clear.

• A votação terminou às oito.
  → everyone understands às oito (horas).
• You can also say às oito horas — it just sounds a bit more explicit / formal.

Spoken Portuguese often omits horas after the number, especially if there is no ambiguity.

Why is there a comma before e in “..., e os resultados saíram na rádio.”? Do you usually put a comma before e?

In Portuguese, you don’t normally put a comma before e when it simply connects two items or short actions:

• Comprei pão e leite. (no comma)

But you can (and often should) use a comma before e when it connects:

• two independent clauses with different subjects, or
• longer clauses where the pause is natural.

Here we have two full clauses:

1. A votação terminou às oito
2. os resultados saíram na rádio

So using a comma is very acceptable:

• A votação terminou às oito, e os resultados saíram na rádio.

You might also see it without the comma in some styles:

• A votação terminou às oito e os resultados saíram na rádio.

Both are possible; the comma just makes the separation of the two events clearer.

In os resultados saíram na rádio, why do we use saíram (“went out”) to mean the results were announced? How does that work?

Sair literally means “to go out / to come out / to leave”, but it also has a figurative meaning: to be released / published / made public.

So:

• Os resultados saíram na rádio.
  → The results came out / were released / were announced on the radio.

Other similar uses:

• Saiu a lista dos vencedores. = The list of winners came out / was published.
• A notícia saiu no jornal. = The news appeared / was published in the newspaper.

So sair is often used when information becomes public, especially via media.

Could we say Os resultados foram anunciados na rádio instead? Is there a nuance?

Yes, you can say:

• Os resultados foram anunciados na rádio.
  = The results were announced on the radio.

Nuance:

• saíram na rádio is a bit more informal and idiomatic. It emphasizes the moment they appeared / came out.
• foram anunciados na rádio is a bit more formal / explicit, and focuses on the act of announcing.

Both are correct; saíram is very common in speech and in news language.

Why is it na rádio and not no rádio? What’s the difference?

Na rádio is em + a rádio (feminine):

• na rádio = “on the radio” (as a medium / station).

No rádio is em + o rádio (masculine):

• no rádio often refers more to the device (the radio set).

In European Portuguese:

• Talking about hearing something broadcast: na rádio is more common.
  • Ouvi os resultados na rádio. = I heard the results on the radio.
• Talking about the physical object: o rádio / no rádio.
  • O rádio não funciona. = The radio (device) doesn’t work.

So here, na rádio is right, because we mean “on the radio (broadcast / station)”.

Why is rádio feminine here (a rádio, na rádio)? Isn’t rádio sometimes masculine too?

Yes, rádio can be both feminine and masculine, with a difference in meaning:

• a rádio (feminine) = the radio as a medium / station / broadcaster.
  • Gosto de ouvir a rádio. = I like listening to the radio (broadcasts).
  • na rádio = on the radio (as a medium).
• o rádio (masculine) = the radio device (the machine).
  • Comprei um rádio novo. = I bought a new radio (device).
  • no rádio = in/on the radio set.

In this sentence, we clearly mean the medium, so it’s a rádio, hence na rádio.

Is the plural article os necessary in os resultados? Could we just say Resultados saíram na rádio?

In normal, full sentences, yes, you should use the article:

• Os resultados saíram na rádio. = The results came out on the radio.

If you say Resultados saíram na rádio, it sounds like:

• a headline, or
• telegraphic style (e.g., a note, a bullet point).

Portuguese likes articles more than English. Where you say “Results came out on the radio”, Portuguese generally needs os resultados.

Can we change the word order and say Às oito, a votação terminou or Às oito terminou a votação? Are these natural?

Yes, you can move the time expression to the front, and both are possible:

• Às oito, a votação terminou.
• Às oito terminou a votação.

All of these are grammatically fine:

1. A votação terminou às oito. (most neutral/typical order)
2. Às oito, a votação terminou. (emphasis on the time)
3. Às oito terminou a votação. (also with time emphasis; subject after verb is common in Portuguese)

The original version is probably the most natural in everyday speech, but the others are definitely correct.

How do you pronounce votação and saíram? Where is the stress?

votação

• Stress: on the last syllable: vo-ta-ÇÃO.
• The ção is like “sown” in English, but with a nasal -ão sound.
• Rough guide: vo-tah-SOWN (with nasal -own).

saíram

• Stress: on í: sa-Í-ram.
• Rough guide: sah-EE-rung (the final -am in European Portuguese is often a nasal sound close to “ung”).

In both words, the accent mark (çã / í) shows where the stress falls.