Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Eles já chegaram?

To say 'they arrived' in the past tense, we take the regular verb chegar, remove the '-ar', and add '-aram'. This gives us chegaram. This ending is used for eles, elas, and vocês.

There is no word for 'did' in the Portuguese sentence. How do we make it a question?

In Portuguese, you do not need helper words like 'do' or 'did' to ask a question in the past tense. You just take the statement Eles já chegaram (They already arrived) and say it with a rising tone of voice at the end.

Could I put já at the end of the sentence, like we sometimes do in English?

In Portuguese, já (already) usually comes right before the verb it applies to. So, Eles já chegaram is the most natural word order, unlike English where 'already' can easily go at the very end.

How do I pronounce the '-am' ending in chegaram?

The unstressed '-am' at the very end of a Portuguese verb is a nasal sound. It is pronounced exactly like the '-ão' sound in the word não. It sounds a bit like 'owng' in English, making the word sound like 'she-GAH-rowng'.