Houve um cancelamento do voo por causa do nevoeiro, mas a companhia ofereceu reembolso.

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Questions & Answers about Houve um cancelamento do voo por causa do nevoeiro, mas a companhia ofereceu reembolso.

Why does the sentence start with Houve um cancelamento instead of saying something like O voo foi cancelado?

Houve um cancelamento literally means There was a cancellation.
Here, houve is the past tense of há / haver used impersonally to talk about the existence or occurrence of something.

  • Houve um cancelamento do voo = There was a cancellation of the flight.
  • O voo foi cancelado = The flight was cancelled.

Both are correct and natural.
The version with haver sounds a bit more formal and focuses on the event (a cancellation occurred), while O voo foi cancelado focuses on the flight as the subject of the action.

What exactly is houve grammatically, and how does it relate to ?

Houve is the pretérito perfeito (simple past) of the verb haver used in its impersonal sense.

  • = there is / there are (present)
    • Há um problema. = There is a problem.
  • houve = there was / there were (past)
    • Houve um cancelamento. = There was a cancellation.

In this impersonal use:

  • It doesn’t agree in number: even with plural you still usually say houve:
    • Houve vários cancelamentos. = There were several cancellations.

In European Portuguese, haver in this sense is very common in both speech and writing.

Why is it um cancelamento and not o cancelamento?

Both can be correct but the nuance is different:

  • um cancelamento do voo = a cancellation of the flight
    • introduces the event as one occurrence; it’s like saying there was a cancellation (of that flight).
  • o cancelamento do voo = the cancellation of the flight
    • assumes the listener already has that specific cancellation in mind, or that it’s clear from context.

In many contexts, Portuguese prefers um when presenting an event that has just happened, especially after houve:

  • Houve um acidente na autoestrada. = There was an accident on the motorway.
Why is it cancelamento do voo and not cancelamento de voo?

do = de + o, so:

  • cancelamento do voo = cancellation of the flight
  • cancelamento de voo = cancellation of a / (any) flight (more generic)

In this sentence we’re talking about a specific flight that was cancelled, so do voo (of the flight) fits better.

You could say cancelamento de voo in more general statements like:

  • As greves podem causar cancelamento de voo.
    Strikes can cause flight cancellation(s).
Why is voo written with two o and no accent? How is it pronounced?

Voo is spelled with two o because of the 2009 spelling reform. Before that, it was vôo (with an accent). Now the correct spelling is:

  • voo (flight)
  • pronounced roughly like “voh-oo” in one smooth syllable, with a long o sound (not two separate syllables).

Be careful not to confuse it with:

  • vou = I go / I’m going (from ir)
    • pronounced like English “voh”, a single o sound.

So:

  • voo = flight
  • vou = I go
Why is it por causa do nevoeiro and not just por causa de nevoeiro?

The structure is:

  • por causa de + [thing] = because of [thing]

When the thing has a definite article, de contracts with it:

  • por causa de + o nevoeiropor causa do nevoeiro
  • por causa de + a chuvapor causa da chuva

por causa do nevoeiro = because of the fog (the specific fog that affected this flight).

You can say por causa de nevoeiro, but it feels less specific, more like “because of fog” in general. In this context, where the fog is a concrete, identifiable cause, do nevoeiro is more natural.

Could we replace por causa do nevoeiro with por or devido a? Would the meaning change?

Possible alternatives:

  • por nevoeiro – grammatically possible but sounds less natural here. por causa de is more idiomatic when giving a reason like weather.
  • devido ao nevoeiro – very natural and a bit more formal:
    • Houve um cancelamento do voo devido ao nevoeiro.

So you can say:

  • …por causa do nevoeiro – neutral, common.
  • …devido ao nevoeiro – slightly more formal, also very common in news / announcements.

Avoid just por nevoeiro in this exact sentence; it can sound abrupt or less idiomatic.

What’s the nuance of nevoeiro? Is it different from névoa or neblina?

In European Portuguese:

  • nevoeiro – the most usual word for fog (especially thick, problematic fog).
  • névoamist or light fog; also used more poetically or descriptively.
  • neblina – also mist; used, but less frequent in Portugal than nevoeiro / névoa.

For aviation and weather reports in Portugal, nevoeiro is the standard term. So for flight cancellations, nevoeiro is exactly the right choice.

In mas a companhia ofereceu reembolso, what does companhia refer to? Is it an airline?

Yes, a companhia here stands for a companhia aérea (the airline).

In context, if you’re already talking about a flight, a companhia is often understood as the airline company, just like in English we might say:

  • The flight was cancelled, but the company offered a refund.

You could make it more explicit:

  • …mas a companhia aérea ofereceu reembolso.
Why is it a companhia (definite article) but um cancelamento (indefinite)?

The articles reflect what the speaker treats as known vs new/one of many:

  • um cancelamentoa cancellation, one event that occurred.
  • a companhiathe company, assumed to be a specific, identifiable airline involved in the flight.

We don’t need to introduce the airline as something new; it’s understood that a specific airline operates that flight, so a companhia is natural.

What’s the difference between ofereceu reembolso and something like deu reembolso?
  • ofereceu reembolso = offered a refund
    • Focus on the fact that they proposed / made available a refund option.
  • deu reembolso = gave a refund
    • Focus on the act of actually paying (they did refund you).

In this kind of announcement, oferecer reembolso is common because it describes the policy or option the company provides.

Is reembolso a noun here? How do I say to refund in Portuguese (Portugal)?

Yes, reembolso is a noun:

  • ofereceu reembolso = offered a refund.

Related forms:

  • reembolsar (verb) = to refund
    • A companhia reembolsou os passageiros. = The company refunded the passengers.
  • um reembolso = a refund
    • Recebi um reembolso. = I got a refund.
  • Informally, you can also say:
    • Devolveram o dinheiro. = They gave the money back.

Could I move por causa do nevoeiro to the end:
Houve um cancelamento do voo, mas a companhia ofereceu reembolso por causa do nevoeiro?

Grammatically yes, but it slightly changes the feeling:

  • Original:
    Houve um cancelamento do voo por causa do nevoeiro, mas a companhia ofereceu reembolso.
    → The reason clearly modifies the cancellation.
  • Moved:
    Houve um cancelamento do voo, mas a companhia ofereceu reembolso por causa do nevoeiro.
    → It can sound like the refund is “because of the fog,” which is logically true but a bit odd in focus.

The original word order is more natural and clearer in Portuguese.