Breakdown of O diretor tinha suspendido o processo.
ter
to have
o diretor
the director
suspender
to suspend
o processo
the file (legal, administrative)
Questions & Answers about O diretor tinha suspendido o processo.
I've seen the word suspenso before. Why does this sentence use suspendido?
The verb suspender (to suspend) has a double past participle: a regular form (suspendido) and an irregular form (suspenso). Because this sentence uses the auxiliary verb ter (in the form tinha) to create an active tense, you must use the regular form suspendido. You only use the short form suspenso with the verbs ser or estar.
What tense is tinha suspendido?
This is the compound pluperfect, which translates to "had suspended" in English. It is built by taking the imperfect tense of ter (which gives us tinha) and adding the regular past participle of the action verb (suspendido). It is used to describe a past action that was already completed before another past action.
Why is processo translated as "file" here instead of "process"?
While processo can mean "process", it is the standard word used in legal, administrative, and corporate contexts in Portugal for a "file", "case", or "lawsuit". Given that a director is suspending it, translating it as "file" or "case" is the most natural fit.
I sometimes see the word "director" spelled with a "c". Which is correct?
In European Portuguese, the modern correct spelling is diretor. Under the latest spelling agreement, silent consonants were dropped. Because the "c" in this word was never pronounced in Portugal, it was removed from the spelling. You will generally only see director in older texts written before the rules changed.
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