Breakdown of Quando o juiz vir que o homem é inocente, a defesa ganha.
ser
to be
o homem
the man
quando
when
ver
to see
que
that (conjunction)
ganhar
to win
o juiz
the judge
a defesa
the defense
inocente
innocent
Questions & Answers about Quando o juiz vir que o homem é inocente, a defesa ganha.
Wait, why does the sentence use vir if it means to see? Isn't vir the verb to come?
This is one of the trickiest irregulars in Portuguese! Here, vir is the Future Subjunctive of the verb ver (to see) for the he/she/it form. It happens to look exactly like the infinitive of the verb vir (to come). Remember the rule for finding this tense: take the they form of the simple past (eles viram), drop the -am, and you are left with the stem vir-.
How do I tell if vir means to see or to come in a sentence?
The trigger word and context give it away! Here, quando referring to an unfulfilled future event requires the Future Subjunctive. If the sentence actually meant when the judge comes, you would need the Future Subjunctive form of the verb vir, which is vier (quando o juiz vier). So if you see vir after a future trigger word like quando or se, it means to see.
Why does the second part of the sentence use the present tense (ganha) instead of the future tense?
In Portuguese, it is very common to use the present tense for future events that feel certain, immediate, or are a direct consequence of a condition. While you could say a defesa ganhará (the defense will win), using the present tense ganha makes the victory sound like a guaranteed, immediate result of the judge seeing the truth.
Is the verb é also affected by the Future Subjunctive trigger?
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