Breakdown of Não esqueça de acender a luz quando entrar.
não
not
quando
when
a luz
the light
esquecer de
to forget
Questions & Answers about Não esqueça de acender a luz quando entrar.
What grammatical mood is used in Não esqueça and why?
Não esqueça is a negative imperative formed with the present subjunctive. In Portuguese, to tell someone not to do something, you use “não” plus the present‐subjunctive form of the verb. Since the implied subject is você (third person), the subjunctive form of esquecer is esqueça.
Why is there a de after esquecer?
When you talk about “forgetting to do something,” Portuguese uses the construction esquecer de + infinitive. So esquecer de acender literally means “to forget to turn on.” Without de, the meaning can shift or become ungrammatical in this context.
Why is acender in the infinitive instead of another conjugated form?
Because acender is the action you might forget, it remains in the infinitive as the complement of esquecer de. You’re not giving a second command (“acenda!”), you’re naming what must not be forgotten.
Why is luz preceded by a (feminine article)?
Why is entrar in the infinitive form, instead of or ?