Questions & Answers about Afinal quem tinha razão?
Does afinal mean "finally"?
No, it is a common false friend! Afinal means "after all", "in the end", or "as it turns out". If you want to say "finally", you should use finalmente. Also notice how Portuguese often places afinal at the very beginning of the sentence, whereas English usually puts "after all" at the end.
Why does the sentence use the verb tinha (from ter, meaning "to have") instead of a past tense of "to be"?
In English we say someone "is right", but in Portuguese you say someone "has reason". The fixed expression is ter razão. Because of this, the English translation uses "was" but the Portuguese sentence literally says "had reason".
Why is the verb in the imperfect past tense (tinha) rather than the simple past (teve)?
The imperfect tense (tinha) is used here because "being right" is seen as a continuous state or background context in the past. You are talking about how things stood over a period of time, rather than a single, completed action.
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