Breakdown of A pontuação acontece na última ronda. O jogador não a tinha compreendido.
não
not / no
ter
to have
em
in / on / at
compreender
to understand
o
him/it (m)
acontecer
to happen
último
last
o jogador
the player
a pontuação
the score
a ronda
the round
Questions & Answers about A pontuação acontece na última ronda. O jogador não a tinha compreendido.
Why is the pronoun a placed before tinha in the second sentence?
In compound tenses (auxiliary verb plus past participle), the clitic pronoun usually attaches to the auxiliary verb with a hyphen, like tinha-a compreendido. However, the negative word não acts as a strong 'magnet'. It pulls the pronoun a to the position immediately before the conjugated auxiliary verb, giving us não a tinha compreendido.
Could we attach the pronoun to the end of the sentence, like não tinha compreendido-a?
No, that is never allowed. In Portuguese, clitic pronouns can never attach to a past participle. You must place the pronoun relative to the conjugated auxiliary verb (tinha).
What exactly does the pronoun a refer to in this context?
What tense is tinha compreendido and why is it used here?
This is the compound pluperfect (past perfect), formed with the imperfect of ter (tinha) and a past participle (compreendido). It translates to 'had understood' and emphasizes that his lack of understanding was an ongoing state leading up to the final round.
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