Breakdown of Eles hão de ganhar a medalha e a glória.
e
and
eles
they (m)
ganhar
to win
haver de
shall / will / ought to / should
a medalha
the medal
a glória
the glory
Questions & Answers about Eles hão de ganhar a medalha e a glória.
Why use hão de ganhar instead of the normal future tense like ganharão or vão ganhar?
The structure haver + de + infinitive expresses a strong intention, conviction, or a sense of destiny. While vão ganhar simply states the fact that they will win, hão de ganhar adds an emotional layer, sounding more like they shall win or they are bound to win.
Where does the word hão come from?
Is the de in hão de ganhar strictly necessary?
Yes. This specific verbal phrase is strictly formed by haver + de + an infinitive verb, which in this case is ganhar. If you drop the de, the phrase stops making grammatical sense.
In English we usually say 'the medal and glory'. Why does this sentence add an extra a before glória?
Portuguese strongly prefers to repeat definite articles like a before every noun in a series, especially when they refer to distinct concepts. Therefore, you need the first a for medalha and the second a for glória.
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