Alcançou

Alcançou is the third-person singular form of the verb alcançar in the pretérito perfeito do indicativo, used to indicate that someone or something reached a place, level, or goal in the past. The sense can be literal, as in physically reaching a destination, or figurative, as in attaining a objective, status, or milestone.

Usage and meaning. As a transitive verb, alcançar takes a direct object: for example, "Ele alcançou o topo" (He reached the top) or "Ela alcançou um objetivo" (She achieved a goal). It is also used in phrases that express progression or catch-up, such as "alcançar alguém" (to catch up with someone) or "alcançar o mesmo nível" (to reach the same level). The term can appear in both written and spoken Portuguese, across regional varieties, with subtle differences in formality and nuance.

Conjugation notes. Alcançar belongs to the regular -çar verbs for which the pretérito perfeito do indicativo forms include "eu alcancei, tu alcançaste, ele/ela alcançou, nós alcançamos, vós alcançastes, eles/elas alcançaram." In European Portuguese, the first person plural is typically "alcancámos," while in Brazilian Portuguese it is commonly "alcançamos." The spelling features the cedilla under c (ç) and the vowel endings that mark the past tense.

Etymology and cognates. The verb is cognate with the Spanish alcanzar and with related Romance-language forms. Its development traces to the broader Iberian Romance verb for reaching or attaining, commonly used across Latin-derived languages.