Breakdown of O trabalho na quinta tem sido duro recentemente.
ser
to be
ter
to have
em
in / on / at
o trabalho
the work / the job
Questions & Answers about O trabalho na quinta tem sido duro recentemente.
Why do we use tem sido here instead of the simple past tense foi?
Tem sido is the Pretérito Perfeito Composto (PPC). We use this tense for something that started in the past and is still happening continuously or repeatedly in the present. Because the work started being hard recently and is still hard right now, we use tem sido. If we used foi, it would mean the work was hard in the past but is no longer hard today.
How is the verb phrase tem sido built in this sentence?
The Pretérito Perfeito Composto is always built using the present tense of the helper verb ter (to have) plus the past participle of the main verb. Here, tem is the present tense of ter matching o trabalho (it), and sido is the past participle of the verb ser (to be).
Why do we use sido (from ser) instead of estado (from estar) if the work has only been hard 'recently'?
Even though recentemente tells us this is a recent development, being 'hard' (duro) is seen as an essential characteristic of the work itself, rather than just a temporary physical state or location. In Portuguese, we generally use ser to describe the inherent qualities of things, so we use its past participle, sido.
Is recentemente a common word to see with this new verb tense?