Breakdown of Se houver uma barreira para o imigrante, nós ajudamos.
nós
we
um
a / an / some (all forms)
haver
to be (there is / there are)
para
to / for
ajudar
to help
se
if
o imigrante
the immigrant
a barreira
the barrier
Questions & Answers about Se houver uma barreira para o imigrante, nós ajudamos.
Why is it houver instead of há for 'there is'?
Because the sentence uses the word se (if) to talk about a possible future situation. In Portuguese, 'if' clauses about the future require the Future Subjunctive tense. So, há (there is) becomes houver (if there is).
How is the form houver created if the infinitive is haver?
To find the Future Subjunctive base of an irregular verb, we take the 'they' form of the simple past tense (eles houveram) and drop the -am. That leaves us with the base houver-. Since 'there is' is impersonal, we use the 'it' form, which adds no extra letters to the end, giving us houver.
Can I use tiver (from ter) instead of houver to say 'if there is'?
Why does the second half of the sentence use the present tense (ajudamos) instead of the future?
When making 'if... then...' statements about the future, Portuguese often pairs the Future Subjunctive in the 'if' clause with the Present Indicative in the main clause. Using the present tense (nós ajudamos) makes the action feel immediate and guaranteed. You could also use the future tense (nós ajudaremos), but the present is very common and natural here.
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