Breakdown of O faroleiro tem vindo a observar as gaivotas.
ter
to have
vir
to come
observar
to observe
o faroleiro
the lighthouse keeper
a gaivota
the seagull
Questions & Answers about O faroleiro tem vindo a observar as gaivotas.
How is tem vindo a observar formed, and what does it express?
It expresses an action that started in the past and is continuously happening up to the present, just like the English "has been observing." In European Portuguese, this continuous progression is formed using the present tense of ter (tem) + vindo (the past participle of vir) + a + the infinitive of the main verb (observar).
Could I just use the normal present perfect and say tem observado instead?
You could, but there is a subtle difference in feeling. Tem observado usually implies a repeated, iterative action over a recent period (meaning he has observed them multiple distinct times). Using tem vindo a observar strongly emphasizes the continuous, ongoing, and uninterrupted nature of the activity.
Does the word vindo (come) imply that the lighthouse keeper is physically moving while observing?
The current lesson focuses on dever de for probability. How would I change this sentence to mean "The lighthouse keeper MUST have been observing the seagulls"?
You would use the present tense of dever, add de, and change the first auxiliary verb (ter) to its infinitive form. The sentence becomes: O faroleiro deve de ter vindo a observar as gaivotas. This perfectly combines the lesson's probability structure with this sentence's continuous past-to-present action.
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