Mal o piloto passou a curva, viu a bandeira.
As soon as the driver passed the curve, he saw the flag.
Breakdown of Mal o piloto passou a curva, viu a bandeira.
ver
to see
passar
to pass
mal
as soon as
o piloto
the driver / the pilot
a curva
the curve
a bandeira
the flag
Questions & Answers about Mal o piloto passou a curva, viu a bandeira.
Why is passou in the indicative here instead of the subjunctive?
The word mal (meaning "as soon as") takes the indicative mood when referring to actions that have already happened. Since passing the curve is a completed past action, we use the simple past indicative passou.
How would this sentence look if it were a future action, like "As soon as the driver passes the curve, he will see the flag"?
You would need the future subjunctive because the action hasn't happened yet. It would change to: Mal o piloto passar a curva, verá a bandeira.
Doesn't mal usually mean "bad" or "badly"?
Yes, mal is very often an adverb meaning "badly" (the opposite of bem). But when it is used as a time-related conjunction connecting two actions, like it is here, it translates to "as soon as".
Why is there no subject before viu in the second half of the sentence?
Portuguese often drops subject pronouns like ele (he) when the context makes it obvious. Because o piloto is the subject of the first clause, it is naturally understood that he is also the one who saw the flag.
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