Breakdown of A percentagem de impostos tem vindo a crescer este ano.
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
ter
to have
o ano
the year
a
to / at (direction)
Questions & Answers about A percentagem de impostos tem vindo a crescer este ano.
What is the exact difference in feeling between tem vindo a crescer and just tem crescido?
Both can translate to "has been growing", but tem vindo a crescer emphasizes a gradual, continuous, or step-by-step progression over a period of time up to the present. The structure ter vindo a + infinitive specifically highlights this cumulative build-up, making it perfect for describing trends like taxes or prices rising throughout a year.
Is the preposition a strictly required in tem vindo a crescer?
Yes. The aspectual structure for this cumulative action in European Portuguese is strictly ter + vindo + a + infinitive. If you drop the a, the sentence becomes grammatically incorrect. While Brazilian Portuguese might use a gerund here, European Portuguese relies on the a + infinitive pattern for continuous actions.
I sometimes see the word for percentage written as porcentagem. Can I use that here?
In European Portuguese, percentagem is the correct and standard spelling. You will see porcentagem in Brazilian Portuguese, but you should stick to percentagem for Portugal.
Since impostos is plural, why is the verb singular (tem) instead of plural (têm)?