Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Brazil): Você pode avisar o grupo sobre a reunião? - Can you notify the group about the meeting?

In this sentence, avisar means to let someone know, give them a heads-up, or notify them about something. It often implies a brief warning or reminder rather than a detailed explanation.

What is the difference between avisar and informar?

Both mean “to inform,” but avisar usually carries a sense of warning or making someone aware of something they need to pay attention to. Informar is more neutral or formal, focusing on providing information or facts without that “heads-up” nuance.

Why is sobre used in avisar o grupo sobre a reunião? Could we use de instead?

You can say avisar alguém sobre algo or avisar alguém de algo.

sobre emphasizes the topic or subject (“about the meeting”).
de is more idiomatic in some cases (“avise o grupo da reunião”).
Both are correct; sobre just sounds slightly more explicit about the subject matter.

Why is the definite article o used before grupo? Can it be omitted?

In Portuguese, when you speak about a specific group, you normally use the article: o grupo (the group). Omitting it (avisar grupo) sounds unnatural in this context. If you wanted a more general sense (“notify groups in general”), you might omit the article, but that changes the meaning.

What is the softening difference between Você pode avisar… and Você poderia avisar…?

Você pode avisar… (“Can you notify…?”) is a direct, friendly request in the present tense.
Você poderia avisar… (“Could you notify…?”) uses the conditional form, making it more polite or tentative—common in more formal or very courteous contexts.

Why is você used instead of tu in Brazilian Portuguese?

In most of Brazil, você is the standard informal “you.” Tu survives in some regions (like Rio Grande do Sul or parts of the Northeast), often with different verb forms. Using você ensures you’ll be understood everywhere in Brazil.

How do you pronounce reunião?

Reunião is pronounced [heh-oo-NEE-ow̃].

r at the beginning of a word in Brazil sounds like an English h.
e is like the e in bet (but shorter).
uni sounds like oo-nee.
The ão ending is a nasal diphthong, like ow̃ with air through the nose.

What gender is reunião, and why is it paired with a?

Reunião is a feminine noun, so it takes the feminine singular article a. Hence, a reunião means “the meeting.”

Could you use the imperative Avise o grupo sobre a reunião instead? How does that change the tone?

Yes. Avise o grupo sobre a reunião is the affirmative imperative (“Notify the group about the meeting”). It’s more direct—like giving an order or instruction—whereas Você pode avisar…? frames it as a request.