Breakdown of O meu filho formou-se há uma semana.
um
a / an / some (all forms)
meu
my (m/f/pl: meu, minha, meus, minhas)
o filho
the son
a semana
the week
há
ago / for (a period up to now)
formar-se
to graduate
Questions & Answers about O meu filho formou-se há uma semana.
The translation says "a week ago", but doesn't há mean "there is"?
Yes, há comes from the verb haver (to exist). However, when used with a time period like uma semana, it indicates elapsed time in the past, meaning "ago". Notice the word order: in English, you put "ago" after the time (a week ago), but in Portuguese, há comes before the time (há uma semana).
Why is there a -se attached to formou?
Why do we say O meu filho instead of just Meu filho?
In European Portuguese, it is standard practice to place a definite article (o, a, os, as) before a possessive word. So, "my son" translates to o meu filho (literally "the my son").
How can I tell that formou is in the past tense?
Formou is the simple past tense (Pretérito Perfeito) of the regular verb formar. For all regular verbs that end in -ar, the third-person singular (he/she/it) past tense ending is always -ou.
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