Breakdown of A fama do cientista notável veio a abrir muitas portas.
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
muito
much / very
abrir
to open
a porta
the door
a
to / at (direction)
vir
to come
o cientista
the scientist
notável
notable
a fama
the fame
Questions & Answers about A fama do cientista notável veio a abrir muitas portas.
How does veio a abrir translate to "eventually opened" instead of just "came to open"?
The structure vir a followed by an infinitive (like abrir) is an aspectual periphrasis that shows an action happened eventually, as a final result or after a period of time. While "came to open" makes literal sense, "eventually opened" or "ended up opening" captures the true feeling of this grammar structure in Portuguese.
Why use the Pretérito Perfeito (veio) for this structure rather than the Imperfeito (vinha)?
The Pretérito Perfeito is used here because the eventual opening of the doors is viewed as a completed outcome in the past. If you used the Imperfeito (vinha a abrir), it would change the meaning to an uncompleted, ongoing, or interrupted background action, translating closer to "was coming to open" or "was eventually going to open."
Since cientista ends in -a, why does it use the masculine do (de + o) here?
Words ending in the suffix -ista (like cientista, artista, motorista) are invariable, meaning their spelling is used for both men and women. You must look at the article to determine the person's gender. Because the sentence uses do cientista, we know this specific notable scientist is male. If it were a woman, it would be da cientista.
Does the meaning change if I place notável before cientista instead of after?
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