Questions & Answers about Ele nunca esquece o remédio.
Why is there no de after esquecer in Ele nunca esquece o remédio?
In Portuguese esquecer can be used as a transitive verb taking a direct object: esquecer algo (“to forget something”). In that case you say esquecer o remédio. If you choose the reflexive form esquecer-se, then you must add de: esquecer-se de algo (“to forget about something”). Here the sentence uses the simpler transitive pattern, so no de is needed.
Could you say Ele nunca esquece do remédio instead?
Yes, but that would require the reflexive structure: Ele nunca se esquece do remédio. You need both the se and the preposition de (contracted to do). Pure Ele nunca esquece do remédio (without se) is ungrammatical.
Why is the definite article o used before remédio? Why not um remédio or no article at all?
Portuguese often uses definite articles where English might drop them. Here o remédio points to a specific medicine that “he” must take (perhaps one he regularly uses). Saying um remédio would imply “some medicine,” less precise. Omitting the article altogether (esquece remédio) sounds unnatural in Brazilian Portuguese when you talk about a concrete, known object.
Can you place nunca after esquece, as in Ele esquece nunca o remédio?