Breakdown of O destino surpreender-te-á, ou a astrologia está errada.
estar
to be (temporary / location)
ou
or
te
you (informal object)
o destino
the destination
errado
wrong
surpreender
to surprise
a astrologia
the astrology
Questions & Answers about O destino surpreender-te-á, ou a astrologia está errada.
How exactly does the word surpreender-te-á break down?
This is an example of mesoclisis, where a pronoun is placed inside the verb. It combines the infinitive surpreender (to surprise), the pronoun te (you), and the future tense ending á (for he/she/it).
Why can't I just put the pronoun at the end and say O destino surpreenderá-te?
In European Portuguese, you cannot attach a pronoun to the very end of a verb in the future or conditional tense. Because the sentence starts with a standard affirmative subject (O destino), the pronoun cannot jump before the verb either. The only option left is to split the verb and put the pronoun in the middle.
Where does the accent on the final á come from?
The normal future tense form is surpreenderá. When you split the verb to insert a pronoun, the final part keeps its original spelling and accent. The accent reminds you to stress that final syllable, just like you would if the pronoun wasn't there.
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