o que tinha

what was there

→ o

phrase Uncommon #17,082

what was there In this usage, tinha means “there was” or “there were.” In a phrase like “o que tinha de fazer,” it means “what [someone] had to do.”

PO: Quero saber o que tinha na caixa.

EN: I want to know what was in the box.

O que tinha nele?

What was in it?

— Pecadores (2025)

O que tinha dentro do envelope?

What was inside the envelope?

Já fiz o que tinha de fazer.

I've already done what I had to do.

Deu o que tinha no bolso.

He gave what he had in his pocket.

— O Auto da Compadecida (2000)

Você fez o que tinha de ser feito.

You did what needed to be done.

Mas eu não acabei o que tinha pra dizer.

But I hadn't finished saying what I had to say.

— O Teste Decisivo (2000)

Vocês fizeram o que tinha de ser feito.

You did what needed to be done.

Eu fiz o que tinha de fazer.

I did what I had to do.

O que tinha no pote?

What was in the jar?

— Pecadores (2025)

Tom perguntou o que tinha na caixa.

Tom asked what was in the box.

O que tinha lá em cima?

What was up there?

— Transtorno Explosivo (2019)

Olha, eu fiz o que deu com o que tinha, tá?

Look, I did the best I could with what I had, okay?

— Homem com H (2025)

Eu não vi o que tinha.

I didn't see what was in it.

— Turma da Mônica: Laços (2019)

Ele fez o que tinha de fazer.

He did what he had to do.

— Abril Despedaçado (2001)

Assim que viu o que tinha de fazer, ele tirou o corpo fora.

As soon as he saw what he had to do, he withdrew from the situation.

O que tinha naquele celular?

What was on that cell phone?

— Decisão de Partir (2022)

Fiz o que tinha de ser feito.

I did what needed to be done.

O senhor já deu o que tinha a dar.

You've done all you can.

— As Bodas de Deus (1999)

Você fez o que tinha de fazer, querida.

You did what you had to do, darling.

— Tudo Sobre Minha Mãe (1999)

Tom desceu para o porão para ver o que tinha de errado com o forno.

Tom went down to the basement to see what was wrong with the oven.