Question 1

Why is the pronoun attached to tem instead of achado in the second sentence?

Accepted Answer

In compound tenses made of ter plus a past participle, object pronouns always attach to the auxiliary verb (here, tem). You can never attach a clitic pronoun to a past participle in Portuguese, so tem achado-a would be grammatically incorrect.

Question 2

Why is the pronoun -na instead of just -a in tem-na?

Accepted Answer

Because tem ends in a nasal sound. Whenever a verb form ends in a nasal sound (like -m, -ão, or -õe), the direct object pronouns o, a, os, and as gain an n to make them easier to pronounce. Here, the pronoun refers back to the feminine noun dinâmica, so a becomes -na.

Question 3

Both sentences translate to "have been [verb]-ing". Is that always how the Portuguese present perfect translates?

Accepted Answer

Mostly, yes! Unlike English, the Portuguese compound present perfect specifically describes an action that started in the past and is still repeating or continuing into the present. Because of this continuous nature, temos testado translates much better to "we have been testing" than "we have tested".

Question 4

Could we use the verb encontrar instead of achar to say he found it playable?

Accepted Answer

No. While both verbs translate to "to find" in English, you must use achar to express an opinion or judgment, such as finding a game playable. You use encontrar only when physically locating a missing object, place, or person.

Temos testado a dinâmica recentemente. Ele tem-na achado jogável.

Breakdown of Temos testado a dinâmica recentemente. Ele tem-na achado jogável.

Questions & Answers about Temos testado a dinâmica recentemente. Ele tem-na achado jogável.

Learn Temos testado a dinâmica recentemente. Ele tem-na achado jogável and more in Portuguese