Questions & Answers about Quem tiver muito talento ganha a audição.
Why do we use tiver instead of the present tense tem here?
In this sentence, we don't know who this talented person is yet. Because "whoever" refers to an unknown person in a future scenario, Portuguese requires the Future Subjunctive (o futuro do conjuntivo). We use tiver after quem to show that this is a hypothetical condition that hasn't been fulfilled yet.
What verb is tiver? It doesn't look like a regular future subjunctive form.
It is the irregular verb ter (to have). To form the Future Subjunctive of an irregular verb, you take the "they" form of the simple past tense (tiveram), drop the -am, and you are left with the stem: tiver-. Since quem acts as a third-person singular subject, we use that base stem exactly as it is: tiver.
Does quem always translate to "whoever"?
Not always. In a question, quem just means "who" (like Quem é ele?). However, when it is used to introduce a relative clause alongside the Future Subjunctive, it takes on the generalizing meaning of "whoever", "anyone who", or "the person who".
If the first part of the sentence is about a future unknown, why is ganha in the present tense?