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É importante que você tome água agora.

É importante que você tome água agora.
It is important that you drink water now.
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Questions & Answers about É importante que você tome água agora.

Why is tome used instead of toma?

Because é importante que... commonly triggers the present subjunctive in Brazilian Portuguese.
So you get que você tome (subjunctive) rather than que você toma (indicative). The subjunctive here signals a recommendation/necessity rather than a neutral statement of fact.

What verb tense/mood is tome exactly?

Tome is the present subjunctive form of tomar for você / ele / ela.
Conjugation (present subjunctive, key forms):

  • eu tome
  • você/ele/ela tome
  • nós tomemos
  • vocês/eles/elas tomem
Is que required in this sentence?

In this structure, yes: É importante que + clause is the standard pattern.
You can also express the idea without que by switching to an infinitive structure:

  • É importante você tomar água agora.
    Both are common in Brazil; the que + subjunctive version can sound a bit more formal/careful.
Why does Portuguese say É importante (It is important) instead of just Importante...?

Portuguese typically uses the verb ser in this impersonal evaluation pattern: É + adjective + que... (It’s + adjective + that...).
Dropping é is possible in very informal, shortened speech (like a note or message), but the complete, normal sentence uses É.

Why is there no article before água (like a água)?

With verbs like tomar/beber meaning “to drink,” Portuguese often omits the article when you mean water in general: tomar água = “drink water.”
If you add an article, it becomes more specific or context-dependent:

  • tomar a água can mean “drink the water (that we’re talking about)” or “drink up the water.”
Does tomar água literally mean “take water”? Why not beber água?

Yes, tomar literally has meanings like “take,” but in Brazil tomar is extremely common for consuming drinks (and also for taking medicine):

  • tomar água/café/suco
  • tomar um remédio
    Beber água is also correct and maybe a bit more “literal” as “drink,” but tomar água is very natural in Brazilian Portuguese.
Is você formal or informal here?

Você is the everyday “you” in most of Brazil and works in many neutral contexts. It’s not overly formal, but it’s not super intimate either.
More informal/intimate in some regions: tu (with regional verb agreement patterns).
More formal/polite options include phrasing like:

  • É importante que o(a) senhor(a) tome água agora.
Could I say É importante tomar água agora without você?

Yes. That makes it more general (like advice to anyone) or less direct:

  • É importante tomar água agora. = “It’s important to drink water now.”
    Including você makes it clearly directed at the listener.
Where does agora usually go? Can it move?

Agora is flexible. These are all natural, with small emphasis shifts:

  • É importante que você tome água agora. (standard)
  • É importante que você tome água já. (stronger urgency with já)
  • Agora, é importante que você tome água. (frames the timing first)
  • É importante que você agora tome água. (possible but often sounds a bit stiff)
What’s the difference between agora and já here?

Both can translate as “now,” but já often adds urgency/immediacy, like “right now / already”:

  • ...agora. = now (neutral)
  • ...já. = now/right away (more urgent)
How would I make it negative (telling someone it’s important they don’t do something)?

You negate inside the que clause:

  • É importante que você não tome água agora. = “It’s important that you don’t drink water now.”
    (For example, before a medical procedure.)
What is the pronunciation detail with É and água?
  • É has an accent to show it’s the verb ser (“is”) and is pronounced like an open eh sound. Without the accent, e usually means “and.”
  • água has stress on the first syllable (Á-gua). The gu here is pronounced with a hard g sound, roughly AH-gwah.
Can I replace É importante with other similar expressions that also use the subjunctive?

Yes—many expressions of necessity, recommendation, emotion, or judgment use que + subjunctive, for example:

  • É necessário que você tome água agora.
  • É melhor que você tome água agora.
  • É bom que você tome água agora.
  • É recomendável que você tome água agora.