Word
Talvez chova hoje à noite.
Meaning
Perhaps it will rain tonight.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Talvez chova hoje à noite.
Why is the verb chova instead of the normal present tense chove or a future tense?
The word talvez (perhaps/maybe) expresses doubt or uncertainty, which triggers the subjunctive mood in Portuguese. So, we change the normal present tense chove to the present subjunctive chova. Even though the English translation says "will rain", Portuguese uses the present subjunctive after talvez to talk about a possible future event.
How is the present subjunctive form chova created?
To make the present subjunctive for a regular "-er" verb like chover (to rain), you start with the "I" form of the normal present tense (chovo), drop the "-o", and add the subjunctive endings. For "it" (3rd person singular), the ending is "-a", giving us chova.
Could I use se calhar instead of talvez for "perhaps"?
Yes, but there is a big grammatical difference! Talvez forces you to use the subjunctive (chova). Se calhar is a very common way to say "maybe", but it is followed by the normal indicative mood. So if you used it here, the sentence would just be Se calhar chove hoje à noite.
Why does the sentence say hoje à noite instead of having a single word for "tonight"?
Unlike English, European Portuguese doesn't have a single everyday word for "tonight". Instead, you have to build the phrase literally: hoje (today) + à (at the) + noite (night).