Log inSign up

Dizem que o inspetor terá chegado atrasado à cena.

Dizem que o inspetor terá chegado atrasado à cena.
They say that the inspector must have arrived late to the scene.
From Lesson 317:Probability in the past (terá sido)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Dizem que o inspetor terá chegado atrasado à cena.

Why use a future tense (terá chegado) for an event that already happened?
In Portuguese, the Futuro Composto (Future Perfect) is frequently used to express a guess, probability, or rumor about the past. While terá chegado literally translates to "will have arrived", in this context it means "must have arrived" or "probably arrived".
Could I say deve ter chegado instead of terá chegado?
Absolutely. Using dever followed by the past infinitive (deve ter chegado) is another very natural way to express "must have arrived". The Futuro Composto just sounds slightly more formal or journalistic, which fits perfectly when reporting on an inspector at a scene.
Who does Dizem refer to here, and why is there no pronoun like eles?
When a verb is in the third-person plural without a specific subject pronoun like eles, it acts as an impersonal statement. It translates to "People say" or "They say" in a general sense. If you included the pronoun (Eles dizem), you would be referring to a specific, previously mentioned group of people.
Does the word atrasado change depending on who is late?
Yes. Although "late" acts like an adverb in English here, in Portuguese atrasado is an adjective describing the subject's state upon arrival. If the inspector were female, it would need to agree in gender: a inspetora terá chegado atrasada.

Learn Dizem que o inspetor terá chegado atrasado à cena and more in Portuguese

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Portuguese →