chegarem

Chegarem is the third-person plural form of the verb chegar in the futuro do subjuntivo (future subjunctive) in Portuguese. This tense form is not used as a simple past or future in isolation; it is employed in subordinate clauses to indicate a future action that is contingent on another condition or event. The form appears across dialects of Portuguese, including Brazilian and European varieties.

Usage and context: Chegarem is typically found in clauses that follow conjunctions referring to the future or to hypothetical conditions. Common connectors include quando, assim que, logo que, depois que, and enquanto when describing future events. It also occurs in conditional or hypothetical statements introduced by se. Examples:

- Quando eles chegarem, avise-me.

- Se eles chegarem atrasados, começaremos sem eles.

- Assim que chegarem, começaremos a reunião.

Comparison with other forms: Chegarem contrasts with the imperfect subjunctive chegassem, which expresses hypothetical past or more remote conditions (e.g., “Se eles chegassem mais cedo…”). It also contrasts with the indicative forms like chegam or chegaram, which convey real or completed actions, not contingent future events. The futuro do subjuntivo, including chegarem, is characteristic of formal or written Portuguese and is widely used in spoken Brazilian Portuguese in subordinate clauses that describe future possibilities or conditions.

Notes: The form is identical in Brazilian and European Portuguese, and it often coexists with other subjunctive forms in nuanced temporal or probabilistic meanings.