Você deve caminhar até a cidade bonita.

You must walk to the beautiful city.

Breakdown of Você deve caminhar até a cidade bonita.

• você: you
• caminhar: to walk
• a cidade: the city
• bonito: beautiful
• dever: must
• até: to

Questions & Answers about Você deve caminhar até a cidade bonita.

Why is deve used here? Does it mean "should" or "must"?

In Portuguese, deve can carry a sense of either "should" or "must," depending on context. In this sentence, it’s closer to "should," giving advice rather than imposing an absolute obligation. If you wanted a stronger sense of necessity, you could say você precisa caminhar (“you need to walk”), or você tem que caminhar (“you have to walk”).

Why is a used before cidade?

The a in até a cidade is the definite article (“the”) that agrees with cidade (a feminine noun in Portuguese). So you have até ("until" or "to") plus the article a and then the noun cidade, forming até a cidade.

Could I say caminhar para a cidade or caminhar até a cidade interchangeably?

They are both understood in everyday speech, but até a cidade emphasizes the endpoint or final destination (literally "all the way to the city"). Para a cidade simply indicates direction or purpose ("toward the city"). In many contexts, até a cidade is more common to express going "all the way there."

Why is bonita placed after cidade?

In Portuguese, most adjectives typically follow the noun they describe. Although you sometimes see adjectives before the noun for stylistic or emphatic reasons, cidade bonita (“beautiful city”) sounds completely natural.

What is the difference between caminhar and andar?

In Brazilian Portuguese, caminhar specifically means “to walk” in a somewhat purposeful or exercise-oriented way, while andar can mean “to go” or “to move around” by foot. In many situations, you can use andar as a more general verb for walking or moving on foot.