Word
Caso precises da sebenta, havias de comprá-la com antecedência.
Meaning
In case you need the course pack, you ought to buy it in advance.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Caso precises da sebenta, havias de comprá-la com antecedência.
comprar
to buy
precisar de
to need
o
him/it (m)
haver de
shall / will / ought to / should
Questions & Answers about Caso precises da sebenta, havias de comprá-la com antecedência.
Why use havias de instead of a word like deverias to say "you ought to"?
Using the imperfect tense of haver de followed by an infinitive is a very natural, idiomatic way in Portugal to give strong advice, a recommendation, or a mild reproach. It means the same thing as deverias (you should / you ought to) but is highly common in everyday conversation.
Why is the verb precisar in the subjunctive mood (precises) here?
The conjunction caso (in case / if) introduces a hypothetical condition and strictly triggers the subjunctive mood. Since we are talking about a possible present or future need, we use the Present Subjunctive form precises. If the sentence used se (if) instead, it would require the Future Subjunctive: se precisares.
Why does comprar change to comprá-la with an accent mark?
When attaching a direct object pronoun like a (meaning "it", replacing the feminine a sebenta) to an infinitive verb ending in -r, you drop the -r and change the pronoun to -la. We add an acute accent (á) to the verb to maintain the natural spoken stress on the final syllable that the infinitive comprar originally had.
What exactly is a sebenta?
It is a specific cultural term used in Portuguese academic settings. A sebenta is a bound course pack, a compilation of a professor's lecture notes, or study materials that students typically buy at a university copy center.