Breakdown of Foi muito cedo para a noiva ter chegado ao copo-d'água.
ser
to be
muito
much / very
ter
to have
cedo
early
a
to / at (direction)
para
to / for
chegar
to arrive
a noiva
the bride
o copo-d'água
the wedding reception
Questions & Answers about Foi muito cedo para a noiva ter chegado ao copo-d'água.
Why is it ter chegado ("to have arrived") instead of just chegar ("to arrive")?
We use the Perfect Personal Infinitive (Infinitivo Pessoal Composto) here to show that the action of arriving was already completed by the time we are talking about ("It was very early..."). It is formed using the personal infinitive of the helping verb ter (here, ter for the third-person singular) plus the past participle of the main verb (chegado).
How do we know ter is the personal infinitive here and not the regular (impersonal) infinitive?
Because it has an explicit subject: a noiva (the bride). Even though the third-person singular of the personal infinitive looks exactly like the regular infinitive (ter), grammatically it is conjugated to match the subject. If the subject were plural, like "the guests" (os convidados), it would change to terem chegado.
Why is it chegado ao copo-d'água instead of chegado no copo-d'água?
In European Portuguese, the verb chegar (to arrive) requires the preposition a (to), not em (in/at). We combine a with the masculine singular article o (the) to get ao (to the).
Why does copo-d'água mean "wedding reception"? Doesn't it literally mean "glass of water"?
Yes, it literally means "glass of water." Historically, offering a glass of water and a small snack to guests after a wedding ceremony was a simple way to celebrate. Over time, the celebration evolved into a large feast, but the traditional name copo-d'água stuck and is still the most common way to say "wedding reception" in Portugal.
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