Portuguese Phrase
Tem que ser entregue até terça que vem.
Meaning
The sentence states that something must be handed in or delivered no later than the upcoming Tuesday. It conveys a firm deadline and is commonly used in work or academic contexts.
When to use
Use this phrase when you need to remind a colleague, client, or student about a deadline that falls on the next Tuesday. It works both in formal emails (with a slight tweak) and in casual conversation.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Temqueserentregueatéterçaquevem
Tem que
A expressão de obrigação informal; equivalent to ‘have to’ or ‘must’. It is more common in spoken Brazilian Portuguese than the formal ‘deve’.
Ser entregue
Passive infinitive construction. The verb ‘entregar’ (to deliver) appears in its past participle ‘entregue’ after the auxiliary ‘ser’.
Até
Preposition meaning ‘by’ or ‘until’, used to set a deadline.
Terça que vem
Colloquial way to say ‘next Tuesday’. The article ‘a’ is often omitted in informal speech.
🗨In Conversation
Tem que ser entregue até terça que vem.
It has to be delivered by next Tuesday.
Entendi, vou organizar tudo hoje.
Got it, I’ll organize everything today.
✕Common Mistakes
Tem de ser entregue até terça que vem.
‘Tem de’ is grammatically correct but sounds more formal; native speakers usually say ‘tem que’ in everyday speech.
Tem que ser entregue até a terça que vem.
Adding ‘a’ before ‘terça’ is acceptable, but the phrase ‘terça que vem’ already implies the article, so ‘a’ can sound redundant in casual conversation.
Tem que ser entregar até terça que vem.
The verb must be in its past participle form ‘entregue’ after ‘ser’; using the infinitive ‘entregar’ is incorrect.
↔Alternatives
Deve ser entregue até a próxima terça‑feira.
It should be delivered by the next Tuesday.
Precisa ser entregue até terça que vem.
It needs to be delivered by next Tuesday.
A entrega tem que ser feita até terça.
The delivery must be made by Tuesday.
Cultural Tip
In Brazil, deadlines are often expressed with ‘até + day of the week + que vem’. It always refers to the nearest upcoming day, not the one after that. In more formal writing you might add the article ‘a’ (e.g., ‘até a próxima terça‑feira’) to avoid ambiguity. Also, the passive infinitive ‘ser entregue’ sounds more neutral and is preferred in business communication.