O motorista precisa verificar o freio antes de sair da garagem.

In Portuguese, it is very common to use a definite article before a noun when talking about the person in that role in a general or specific situation.

So o motorista means the driver.

Portuguese uses articles more often than English does, so a sentence like this sounds natural with o. Leaving it out would usually sound incomplete unless you were using motorista in a special context, like a label or headline.

Usually, motorista has the same form for both men and women. The gender is shown by the article:

• o motorista = the male driver / the driver
• a motorista = the female driver

This is common with some profession or role words ending in -ista.

After precisar when it means to need to, the next verb normally stays in the infinitive.

So:

• precisa verificar = needs to check
• precisa sair = needs to leave

This is similar to English needs to check, where check stays in its base form.

Here, precisa comes from the verb precisar and means needs.

• eu preciso = I need
• você precisa = you need
• o motorista precisa = the driver needs

So precisa verificar means needs to check.

Be careful not to confuse this with the adjective preciso, which can mean precise or accurate in other contexts.

Portuguese often uses the definite article with concrete nouns where English might not always emphasize it.

So:

• verificar o freio = check the brake / check the brakes

In context, o freio refers to the braking system or the brake as a necessary part of the vehicle. Portuguese often uses the singular for something that English might sometimes express differently.

Yes, in English you often say check the brakes. In Portuguese, o freio in the singular can refer to the braking system in a general sense.

So verificar o freio is natural Portuguese, even though English may prefer a plural translation in some contexts.

You could also hear os freios in other situations, especially if someone is thinking of the individual brakes more specifically. But o freio is perfectly normal here.

Because antes de is the normal structure in Portuguese for before when it is followed by a verb in the infinitive.

So:

• antes de sair = before leaving / before going out
• antes de comer = before eating
• antes de dormir = before sleeping

This is a fixed pattern you should learn as a chunk: antes de + infinitive.

After antes de, Portuguese normally uses the infinitive when the subject is understood or general.

So:

• antes de sair = before leaving

The subject is understood to be the same person already mentioned, o motorista.

If you wanted to make the subject more explicit, Portuguese can sometimes use the personal infinitive, for example:

• antes de ele sair = before he leaves

But in your sentence, antes de sair is the most natural choice.

Da is a contraction of de + a.

• de = from / out of
• a garagem = the garage
• de + a garagem → da garagem

So:

• sair da garagem = leave the garage / go out of the garage

Portuguese uses these contractions very often, and they are required in normal writing.

Other common ones are:

• do = de + o
• na = em + a
• no = em + o

Yes, but that changes the meaning slightly.

• da garagem = from the garage
• da sua garagem = from his/her/your garage

The original sentence just says the garage, probably a specific garage understood from context. Adding sua makes possession explicit.

Yes, you might hear other verbs, but verificar is a very standard and natural choice.

Some alternatives:

• verificar = to check, to verify
• checar = to check; common in modern spoken language, a borrowing from English
• conferir = to check, inspect, confirm

In a neutral or slightly formal sentence, verificar works very well.

Yes, Portuguese word order can be flexible, but this order is the most neutral and natural.

The sentence follows a common pattern:

• subject: O motorista
• verb phrase: precisa verificar
• object: o freio
• time clause: antes de sair da garagem

You could move parts for emphasis, for example:

• Antes de sair da garagem, o motorista precisa verificar o freio.

This means the same thing, but it puts more focus on the before leaving part.

In Brazilian Portuguese, the pronunciation is roughly:

• motorista ≈ moh-toh-REES-tah
• precisa ≈ preh-SEE-zah

A few helpful notes:

• The r in motorista varies by accent, but in many Brazilian accents it is softer than an English r.
• The s in precisa sounds like z because it is between vowels.
• Stress matters: motorista is stressed on ris, and precisa on ci.

Often yes, but context matters.

Garagem usually means garage, but it can also refer more generally to a place where vehicles are kept or parked. In some contexts it might be closer to parking garage, vehicle bay, or depot, depending on the situation.

In this sentence, garage is the most direct and natural translation.

It is neutral and very natural.

• o motorista = neutral
• precisa verificar = standard
• o freio = standard
• antes de sair da garagem = standard

It would sound fine in a driving instruction, safety guide, textbook, or everyday explanation. It is not slangy, and it is not unusually formal.