Breakdown of O chefe ficou a saber da irregularidade no balanço.
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
em
in / on / at
o chefe
the boss (m)
saber
to know
ficar
to become
a irregularidade
the irregularity
o balanço
the balance sheet
Questions & Answers about O chefe ficou a saber da irregularidade no balanço.
Why use ficou a saber instead of just soube for "found out"?
While soube (the simple past of saber) can also mean "found out", the structure ficar a + infinitive is a very common verbal periphrasis in Portugal used to describe the acquisition of a state or knowledge. Ficar a saber literally translates to something like "to end up knowing", emphasizing the transition from not knowing to knowing.
Why is it saber da irregularidade and not just saber a irregularidade?
When saber means "to know about" or "to hear about" a situation or event, it requires the preposition de. Here, de combines with the feminine definite article a to form da. If you omit the preposition, saber implies knowing a specific piece of information directly (like knowing a password or a language), which doesn't fit the context of discovering an issue.
Does balanço mean something different here than a physical swing or balancing?
Could we use the imperfect tense here, like ficava a saber?
Not in this specific sentence. "Finding out" is a single, completed action in the past, which requires the pretérito perfeito (ficou). If you used the imperfect (ficava a saber), it would change the meaning to a repeated action in the past, such as "he used to find out" or "he was finding out".
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