A vistoria terminou; então li a apólice.

Vistoria usually means an inspection, check, or formal examination.

In European Portuguese, it is often used in contexts like:

• property inspections
• vehicle checks
• insurance-related inspections
• official or technical inspections

It is a feminine noun, which is why the sentence has a vistoria.

Terminou is the pretérito perfeito simples (simple preterite), 3rd person singular, from terminar.

That means it describes a completed past action:

• terminou = ended / finished

Here, it presents the inspection as a finished event before the next action happened.

Portuguese uses the definite article much more often than English.

So:

• a vistoria = the inspection
• a apólice = the policy

In this sentence, both nouns are treated as specific, known things in the context, not just any inspection or any policy.

This is very natural in Portuguese, even in cases where English might sometimes sound fine without the.

Here, então means something like:

• then
• so
• after that

It connects the two clauses and shows sequence: first one action ended, then the next action happened.

In this sentence, então suggests:

• the inspection ended
• as a result / after that, the speaker read the policy

So it is not just a random time marker; it helps link the two events logically.

The semicolon joins two closely related complete clauses:

• A vistoria terminou
• então li a apólice

It creates a pause that is:

• stronger than a comma
• weaker than a full stop

So it suggests that the two actions are separate but strongly connected.

A full stop would also be possible:

• A vistoria terminou. Então li a apólice.

A comma is less careful stylistically here, because both sides are full clauses. The semicolon is a neat way to show the link without making the sentence feel too broken up.

Yes. Li is the 1st person singular of ler in the simple preterite.

The verb is irregular in this tense:

• eu li
• tu leste
• ele/ela leu
• nós lemos
• eles/elas leram

So:

• li = I read / I read it in the past

This form is very common and completely normal, even though it looks short and irregular.

Portuguese often omits subject pronouns when the verb form already makes the subject clear.

Since li can only mean I read in this tense, eu is unnecessary.

So:

• li a apólice = I read the policy

You could say eu li a apólice, but that usually adds:

• emphasis
• contrast
• clarification

For example:

• A Ana não leu, mas eu li a apólice.

Without that kind of emphasis, leaving out eu is more natural.

Apólice usually means an insurance policy, especially the official insurance document or contract.

So in many contexts, a apólice would specifically be:

• the insurance policy
• the policy document

It is a feminine noun, which is why it takes a.

The accent in apólice shows the stressed syllable: pó.

It is pronounced with the stress on that syllable:

• a-PÓ-li-ce

The accent is there because apólice is a word stressed on the antepenultimate syllable, and words of that type are normally written with an accent in Portuguese.

The ó also helps show the vowel quality.

Not exactly, though they can be similar in some contexts.

• depois means more directly afterwards / later
• então can mean then / so / in that case, and often links ideas more logically

In this sentence, então does more than just mark time. It also suggests a natural consequence or next step:

• the inspection ended, so/then I read the policy

If you used depois, the sentence would focus more simply on chronological order.

Yes, in many contexts you could.

• A vistoria terminou
• A vistoria acabou

Both can mean that the inspection ended.

However:

• terminou can sound a bit more neutral or formal
• acabou can sound a bit more everyday

In this sentence, terminou fits very well, especially because vistoria already sounds somewhat formal or official.

It suggests that the reading happened after the inspection, and probably as the next relevant event, but it does not necessarily mean immediately.

Because of então, the sentence gives a natural sequence:

1. the inspection ended
2. then the speaker read the policy

It often feels like a fairly direct continuation, but the sentence itself does not state an exact time gap.