Não é mentira que precisamos procurar o casaco antes de sair.

It's not a lie that we need to look for the coat before leaving.

Breakdown of Não é mentira que precisamos procurar o casaco antes de sair.

• ser: to be
• o: the
• não: not
• precisar: to need
• de: of
• nós: we
• sair: to leave
• o casaco: the coat
• antes: before
• procurar: to look for
• que: that
• a mentira: the lie

Questions & Answers about Não é mentira que precisamos procurar o casaco antes de sair.

Why do we use é here instead of está?

In Portuguese, ser (conjugated as é) often indicates a permanent or defining characteristic, while estar indicates a temporary state. In "Não é mentira", we are stating a fact—"It’s not a lie"—so the idea is more permanent or factual than temporary.

Why do we say precisamos procurar instead of precisamos de procurar?

When precisar is followed by a verb, you don’t use de. For example, "Precisamos estudar" (we need to study). However, if precisar is followed by a noun, you do need de, such as "Precisamos de um casaco" (we need a coat). In your sentence, precisar is followed by the verb procurar, so we don’t add de.

Could we say antes de sairmos instead of antes de sair?

Yes, "antes de sairmos" is also acceptable and grammatically correct. Using "antes de sair" is more general and can imply that anyone who needs to do so should search for the coat before leaving. If you use "sairmos", you’re explicitly referring to nós (we) leaving.

What is the function of não at the beginning of the sentence?

The word não negates the statement "é mentira". In other words, it emphasizes that it’s "not a lie" that something is true. It doesn’t affect the general word order but simply negates é mentira directly.

Is casaco always used for "coat," or can it also mean "jacket"?

In Brazilian Portuguese, casaco generally means a coat or jacket. Some people also use jaqueta for lighter jackets. So casaco is flexible and can refer to different types of outerwear, but jaqueta is often used for a short, lighter jacket.