Breakdown of Peço-te que tenhas calma.
ter
to have
que
that (conjunction)
pedir
to ask for
a calma
the calm (ter calma = to stay calm)
Questions & Answers about Peço-te que tenhas calma.
Why is the verb ter conjugated as tenhas instead of the normal present tense tens?
In English we say 'stay calm' or 'be calm'. Why does the Portuguese sentence use the verb ter (to have)?
In Portuguese, calmness is often treated as something you possess rather than a state you are in. The set phrase is ter calma (literally to have calm). While you could technically say fiques calmo or estejas calmo to mean 'be calm', ter calma is the much more natural and common way to express this everyday idea.
Why is the pronoun te attached to the end of peço with a hyphen?
In European Portuguese, object pronouns like te normally attach to the end of the verb in affirmative main clauses. Since peço is at the very beginning of the sentence, and there are no magnet words (like negative words or certain adverbs) to pull the pronoun to the front, it naturally hooks onto the end as peço-te.
If I wanted to say 'I ask him to stay calm', would I still use te?
No, te specifically means 'to you' (informal). The verb pedir (to ask) requires an indirect object pronoun for the person you are asking. To say 'I ask him', you need the indirect object pronoun lhe, making the phrase peço-lhe que tenha calma.
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