Breakdown of Quando o satélite tiver chegado à órbita, funcionará bem.
ter
to have
bem
well / fine
quando
when
chegar
to arrive
funcionar
to work, to function
o satélite
the satellite
a órbita
the orbit
Questions & Answers about Quando o satélite tiver chegado à órbita, funcionará bem.
Why do we use the Future Perfect Subjunctive (tiver chegado) here instead of a simple future tense?
The word Quando triggers the subjunctive when referring to an uncompleted future event. We use the compound version (tiver chegado) to emphasize that the action of reaching orbit must be completely finished before the second action (funcionará) can begin.
How exactly is tiver chegado constructed?
It is made up of the helping verb ter conjugated in the Future Subjunctive (tiver), followed by the past participle of the main verb (chegado).
Why does the sentence use à órbita instead of just a órbita or em órbita?
In Portuguese, the verb chegar (to arrive or reach) requires the preposition a for destinations. Because órbita is a feminine noun preceded by the definite article a, the preposition and article merge into the contraction à.
Why is the second verb, funcionará, in the indicative rather than the subjunctive?
The conjunction Quando only forces the subjunctive in the dependent clause it directly introduces. The main clause (funcionará bem) states a factual result that will happen once the condition is met, so it uses the standard Future Indicative.
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