Breakdown of Onde quer que o alvo vá, temos de o perseguir.
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
ter
to have
ir
to go
o
him/it (m)
onde quer que
wherever
o alvo
the target
perseguir
to pursue (chase)
Questions & Answers about Onde quer que o alvo vá, temos de o perseguir.
Why is the verb vá in the subjunctive here?
It follows the indefinite relative phrase onde quer que (wherever). These expressions usually imply uncertainty or a hypothetical situation—we don't know where the target will actually go—so they always trigger the subjunctive in Portuguese.
What verb is vá and why doesn't it look like a regular subjunctive form?
It is the present subjunctive of ir (to go). Because ir is a highly irregular verb, its subjunctive forms do not follow the standard rules of swapping vowel endings. For the third-person singular (matching o alvo), the form is vá.
Why is the pronoun o placed before the infinitive (de o perseguir) instead of attached to it (de persegui-lo)?
In European Portuguese, when an infinitive is preceded by a preposition like de, it is very common and natural to place the object pronoun between the preposition and the infinitive. While temos de persegui-lo is also grammatically correct, temos de o perseguir is what you will frequently hear native speakers say.
Could I say temos que o perseguir instead of temos de o perseguir?
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