Breakdown of Não esqueça de carregar o celular antes da reunião.
não
not
antes
before
da
of the
esquecer de
to forget
a reunião
the meeting
carregar
to charge
o celular
the phone
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Questions & Answers about Não esqueça de carregar o celular antes da reunião.
Why is it esqueça and not esquece?
Because it’s a negative command addressed to você. In Portuguese, negative imperatives use the present subjunctive: você esqueça. Esquece is the indicative (and the affirmative imperative for tu). You’ll hear Não esquece in Brazil, but the standard with você is Não esqueça.
Can I say Não se esqueça? Is there a difference?
Yes. Esquecer-se de is the pronominal form; Não se esqueça de... is equally correct and often sounds a bit softer/politer. In the negative, the clitic goes before the verb: Não se esqueça. In the affirmative, the normative order is Esqueça-se de... (though Se esqueça is common in Brazil).
Why is there a de before carregar?
Because with another verb in the infinitive, Portuguese uses the pattern esquecer de + infinitive: esquecer de carregar, esqueci de ligar, etc. With a noun, you normally drop the preposition: Esqueci o celular (not typically esqueci do celular, which is colloquial/regional).
Could I replace o celular with a pronoun?
Yes: Não se esqueça de carregá-lo antes da reunião. When an object pronoun attaches to an infinitive, it hyphenates and may trigger an accent for stress: carregar → carregá-lo.
Why is it o celular and not seu celular?
Brazilian Portuguese often uses the definite article to refer to someone’s own item when context makes ownership obvious. Carregar o celular usually implies “charge your phone.” Seu celular is also fine if you want to be explicit.
Does carregar mean “to charge” or “to carry”?
Both, depending on context. In Brazil, for batteries, carregar means “to charge.” It can also mean “to carry/load,” especially for heavy things; for simply taking something somewhere, levar is very common.
Is recarregar acceptable here?
It’s understood, but everyday speech uses carregar (o celular) for charging the battery. Note that recarregar o celular can also mean “top up mobile credit” in Brazil; to be unambiguous about the battery you can say carregar o celular or recarregar a bateria.
How do I say it to more than one person?
Use vocês forms: Não esqueçam de carregar os celulares antes da reunião.
What if I’m using tu?
Standard (Portugal): Não esqueças de carregar o telemóvel antes da reunião. In many regions of Brazil that use tu, people often say Não esquece in speech, but the prescriptive form is Não esqueças.
Why antes da reunião and not antes de a reunião?
Portuguese contracts preposition + article: de + a = da. Also, articles are normally used with countable nouns, so antes da reunião is the natural phrasing.
When do I use antes de vs antes que?
- Antes de
- noun/infinitive: antes da reunião, antes de carregar.
- Antes que
- clause with subjunctive: antes que a reunião comece.
Can I front the time phrase?
Yes: Antes da reunião, não esqueça de carregar o celular. Same meaning; the comma is optional but common.
Any pronunciation tips?
- Não: nasal “ão” (like “own” but nasalized).
- esqueça: stress on “quê” syllable; ç sounds like “s” → es-KEH-sa.
- carregar: the rr is a strong, throaty “h” in much of Brazil.
- celular: stress on the last syllable; final r often sounds like “h” in many accents.
- reunião: say both vowels in reu; final nasal “ão”.
Why does esqueça have a ç?
Before a/o/u, plain c would sound like “k.” The cedilla (ç) keeps the “s” sound. When esquecer is conjugated to the present subjunctive (esqueça), the c changes to ç to preserve pronunciation.
Why is reunião feminine (so da, not do)?
Gender is part of the noun’s lexical form; reunião is feminine in Portuguese. Hence a reunião / da reunião.
Is it okay to say carregar a bateria (do celular)?
Yes. Carregar a bateria (do celular) is explicit; carregar o celular is shorter and more common in everyday speech.