Breakdown of Aconteça o que acontecer, não vamos sucumbir à adversidade.
não
not / no
o que
what
a
to / at (direction)
ir
to go
acontecer
to happen
sucumbir
to succumb
a adversidade
the adversity
Questions & Answers about Aconteça o que acontecer, não vamos sucumbir à adversidade.
Why does the phrase aconteça o que acontecer use two different tenses for the same verb?
This is a classic Portuguese structure used to express 'no matter what happens'. The formula requires the Present Subjunctive for the first verb (aconteça, expressing the hypothetical situation) and the Future Subjunctive for the second verb (acontecer, expressing what might play out). You cannot just repeat the exact same verb form.
Is it correct to say aconteça o que aconteça, repeating the Present Subjunctive twice?
In European Portuguese, no. While you might see that double Present Subjunctive in Spanish, European Portuguese strictly uses the Present Subjunctive followed by the Future Subjunctive for these repeated 'no matter what' structures. Other common examples include custe o que custar (whatever it costs) or diga quem disser (whoever says it).
Why does à adversidade have a grave accent on the à?
The grave accent indicates a contraction between the preposition a (required by the verb sucumbir, meaning to succumb to) and the feminine definite article a (the) that belongs to adversidade. Therefore, a + a = à. This contraction is called 'crase'.
Could I use the simple future tense não sucumbiremos instead of não vamos sucumbir?
Yes, both are grammatically correct and have the exact same meaning. However, the structure using the verb ir plus an infinitive (vamos sucumbir) is much more common in everyday spoken Portuguese, whereas the simple future (sucumbiremos) sounds quite formal or literary.
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