Se eu tiver sorte, vou chegar a horas.

Because after se when you are talking about a future possibility, Portuguese normally uses the future subjunctive.

• Se eu tiver sorte = If I am lucky / If I happen to be lucky
• tiver is the future subjunctive form of ter

This is very common in Portuguese:

• Se eu puder, vou. = If I can, I’ll go.
• Se ele vier, falamos. = If he comes, we’ll talk.

English does not have a special future subjunctive form here, so this often feels new to learners.

A quick comparison:

• Se eu tenho sorte... sounds wrong here for standard Portuguese.
• Se eu terei sorte... is also not how Portuguese expresses this idea.

So in this sentence, tiver is the correct form.

Tiver is an irregular form of ter in the future subjunctive.

Here are the forms:

• se eu tiver
• se tu tiveres
• se ele/ela/você tiver
• se nós tivermos
• se vós tiverdes
• se eles/elas/vocês tiverem

This tense is often built from the preterite stem, so irregular verbs can look different from the infinitive. That is why ter becomes tiver- here.

Other common examples:

• fazer → se eu fizer
• dizer → se eu disser
• trazer → se eu trouxer
• vir → se eu vier

Both are possible, but vou chegar is much more common in everyday speech.

• vou chegar = I’m going to arrive / I’ll arrive
• chegarei = I will arrive

In European Portuguese, just like in English, the ir + infinitive future is very natural and common in conversation.

So:

• Se eu tiver sorte, vou chegar a horas. sounds very normal.
• Se eu tiver sorte, chegarei a horas. is grammatical, but more formal or literary.

In European Portuguese, a horas is an idiomatic expression meaning:

• on time
• not late
• at a reasonable time

So chegar a horas means to arrive on time.

Examples:

• Espero chegar a horas para a reunião. = I hope to arrive on time for the meeting.
• Ele nunca chega a horas. = He never arrives on time.

This expression is especially characteristic of Portugal. It is one of those phrases you should learn as a chunk: chegar a horas.

Because a horas is a fixed expression.

Even though it may look unusual at first, you should treat it as an idiom:

• chegar a horas = arrive on time

It does not literally mean at the hours. The article is simply not used here.

Be careful not to confuse it with other expressions:

• à hora can mean at the time / at the agreed time in some contexts
• na hora is more typical in Brazilian Portuguese in some uses
• a horas is the standard European Portuguese expression for on time

They are similar, but not always identical.

• a horas = on time, not late
• a tempo = in time, often with the idea before it is too late

Examples:

• Cheguei a horas à aula. = I got to class on time.
• Cheguei a tempo de apanhar o comboio. = I arrived in time to catch the train.

So in your sentence, a horas focuses on not being late.
If you said a tempo, it would suggest more strongly that you arrived before missing some opportunity.

Yes, it can be omitted.

Portuguese often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person:

• Se eu tiver sorte, vou chegar a horas.
• Se tiver sorte, vou chegar a horas.

Both are correct.

Why include eu?

• for emphasis
• for clarity
• for contrast with someone else

For example:

• Se eu tiver sorte, chego a horas; se tu tiveres azar, não.

So eu is optional here, not required.

Because ter sorte is the normal expression for to be lucky / to have luck.

Portuguese often uses abstract nouns without an article in these kinds of phrases:

• ter sorte = to be lucky
• ter medo = to be afraid
• ter fome = to be hungry
• ter paciência = to have patience

So:

• Se eu tiver sorte... = If I’m lucky...

You could sometimes see an article in more specific contexts, but in this sentence the natural form is simply sorte.

Yes, but it is not exactly the same in tone.

• Se eu tiver sorte = If I’m lucky / If I happen to be lucky
• Se eu for sortudo = If I’m lucky / if I turn out to be lucky

The sentence with ter sorte is more idiomatic and more common in this context.

Also, sortudo is an adjective meaning lucky, but ter sorte is usually the more natural everyday way to express the idea.

So the original sentence sounds better and more standard.

Yes, the comma is standard here.

The sentence starts with a conditional clause:

• Se eu tiver sorte = if I’m lucky

Then comes the main clause:

• vou chegar a horas = I’ll arrive on time

When the if-clause comes first, Portuguese normally separates it with a comma:

• Se eu tiver sorte, vou chegar a horas.

If the order is reversed, the comma is often not used:

• Vou chegar a horas se eu tiver sorte.

Yes:

• Se eu tiver sorte, vou chegar a horas.
• Vou chegar a horas se eu tiver sorte.

Both are correct.

The version with se first often sounds slightly more natural when you want to frame the whole statement as a condition. The reversed order may sound a bit more direct or conversational depending on context.

Yes, it sounds especially European because of a horas.

A Brazilian learner would understand the sentence, but a horas is much more strongly associated with Portugal. In Brazil, people are more likely to use other expressions depending on context.

The rest of the sentence is fine in both varieties:

• Se eu tiver sorte works in both
• vou chegar works in both

So the most clearly European Portuguese feature here is chegar a horas.

A more formal version would be:

• Se eu tiver sorte, chegarei a horas.

This uses the simple future chegarei instead of vou chegar.

Both are correct, but:

• vou chegar = more common in everyday speech
• chegarei = more formal, written, or literary

So the original sentence is perfectly natural for normal spoken Portuguese.

The h in Portuguese is silent, so horas begins with a vowel sound.

In European Portuguese, the pronunciation is roughly:

• horas ≈ OR-ash / OR-uhsh depending on accent and reduction

A few useful points:

• h is silent
• the o is stressed: HO-ras
• the final s in European Portuguese often sounds like sh at the end of a phrase

So a horas will sound something like a OR-ash in many Portugal accents.