Breakdown of O chefe tem de aprovar o produto depois de testá-lo.
ter de
to have to
o chefe
the boss (m)
depois de
after
-lo
it / him (m) [-la, -los, -las]
o produto
the product
testar
to test
aprovar
to approve
Questions & Answers about O chefe tem de aprovar o produto depois de testá-lo.
Why do we use the infinitive verb in testá-lo instead of a conjugated verb?
Because the subject (the boss) is the same for both actions. In Portuguese, when the subject doesn't change, we follow antes de and depois de with the infinitive. Also, remember that Portuguese uses the infinitive after prepositions like de, whereas English uses the -ing form (after testing).
Why did testar turn into testá-lo? Where did the letter l come from?
Why is there an accent mark on the a in testá-lo?
Dropping the -r from an -ar verb changes how the word would naturally be stressed. To keep the stress on the final syllable where it belongs, we must add an acute accent (á).
I have sometimes seen ter que used for obligation. Why does this sentence use tem de aprovar?
In European Portuguese, ter de followed by an infinitive is the standard, most grammatically correct way to express a strong obligation or duty (must or have to). While you will hear people say ter que in casual everyday speech, ter de is much more common and preferred.
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