Breakdown of É pena que a delegação não tenha assinado o tratado internacional aquando da cimeira.
ser
to be
não
not / no
ter
to have
que
that (conjunction)
assinar
to sign
a pena
the pity
o tratado
the treaty
a delegação
the delegation
aquando de
at the time of
a cimeira
the summit (political meeting)
internacional
international
Questions & Answers about É pena que a delegação não tenha assinado o tratado internacional aquando da cimeira.
Why do we use aquando da instead of a simpler word like durante or em here?
The compound preposition aquando de means 'at the time of' or 'on the occasion of'. It is highly formal, making it perfect for official contexts like international treaties. You could use durante a cimeira (during the summit) or na cimeira (at the summit) for a more everyday tone, but aquando da emphasizes that the signing was expected to happen on that specific occasion. Notice how de contracts with the feminine article a to make da.
The English translation says 'did not sign', so why is the Portuguese verb in a perfect tense (tenha assinado)?
In Portuguese, the present perfect subjunctive is formed with the auxiliary verb ter (tenha) plus the past participle (assinado). It is used to talk about a completed past action that has a direct emotional connection to the present. While English naturally uses the simple past 'did not sign' here, Portuguese requires this compound tense to show the action is finished while the regret about it is happening right now.
What triggers the subjunctive mood for tenha assinado in this sentence?
The phrase É pena que (It is a pity that) expresses a personal judgment, emotion, or reaction. In Portuguese, stating an emotional reaction to a fact always triggers the subjunctive mood in the following clause, which is why we cannot use the normal indicative past tense here.
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