Breakdown of Nós havíamos de começar o planeamento com antecedência.
nós
we
começar
to begin
haver de
shall / will / ought to / should
com antecedência
in advance
o planeamento
the planning
Questions & Answers about Nós havíamos de começar o planeamento com antecedência.
Why use havíamos de começar here instead of just saying devíamos começar?
Both translate to we ought to start or we should start. However, using the Pretérito Imperfeito of haver + de + infinitive is a very natural and idiomatic way in Portugal to express a strong recommendation or a mild reproach. It often feels slightly more emphatic or expressive than simply using the verb dever.
Why is the past tense (havíamos) used to talk about a recommendation for the present or future?
Using the Pretérito Imperfeito is a common Portuguese strategy to soften a statement, acting as a polite alternative to the Conditional tense. Using havíamos de instead of a direct command makes the suggestion feel like gentle advice rather than a strict order.
I usually see the word for planning written as planejamento. Why is it planeamento in this sentence?
Planeamento is the standard noun in European Portuguese, derived from the verb planear. The form planejamento comes from the verb planejar, which is the standard spelling and pronunciation used in Brazilian Portuguese.
Can I translate in advance literally and say em avanço instead of com antecedência?
No, translating it literally would sound unnatural in this context. The fixed phrase com antecedência is the correct, standard way to say that you are doing something ahead of time or in advance in Portuguese.
Learn Nós havíamos de começar o planeamento com antecedência and more in Portuguese
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free