Antes de aceitar o empréstimo, compare a taxa e os juros.

Because in Portuguese, antes is normally followed by de when the next verb is in the infinitive.

So the pattern is:

• antes de + infinitive = before doing something

Examples:

• antes de sair = before leaving
• antes de comprar = before buying
• antes de aceitar = before accepting

So antes aceitar would sound incomplete or incorrect here.

After the preposition de, Portuguese usually uses the infinitive form of the verb.

That is why you get:

• antes de aceitar o empréstimo = before accepting the loan

This works a lot like English before accepting the loan, where accepting is not the main verb of the sentence.

The main action in the sentence is actually compare.

Here compare is the imperative form, so the sentence is giving advice or an instruction:

• Compare the rate and the interest.

In Brazilian Portuguese, the imperative for você often looks like the present subjunctive form. So:

• você compara = you compare
• compare! = compare!

This sentence sounds like advice you might read in a financial article, ad, or consumer guide.

Portuguese often leaves out subject pronouns when they are understood from context.

So even without você, the sentence still clearly means:

• you should compare
• compare

This is very common in Portuguese, especially in instructions, advice, and commands.

Portuguese uses definite articles much more often than English.

So where English might say:

• accept a loan
• compare rate and interest

Portuguese often prefers:

• aceitar o empréstimo
• compare a taxa e os juros

The articles also show gender and number:

• o empréstimo = masculine singular
• a taxa = feminine singular
• os juros = masculine plural

Because the nouns have different grammatical gender and number:

• taxa is feminine singular, so it takes a
• juros is masculine plural, so it takes os

This is something you usually have to learn with each noun.

In financial Portuguese, these words are related but not identical.

• taxa often means rate or fee
• juros means interest or interest charges

So in this sentence:

• a taxa could refer to the rate or fee attached to the loan
• os juros refers to the interest charged

A very common phrase is taxa de juros, which means interest rate. But this sentence separates the ideas, telling you to compare both the rate/fee and the interest.

Because in Portuguese, juros is normally used in the plural when talking about financial interest.

So:

• os juros estão altos = the interest is high
• pagar juros = to pay interest

Even though English usually treats interest as singular or uncountable, Portuguese commonly treats juros as a plural noun.

That is why the sentence says os juros, not o juro, in normal usage.

Yes. That is also correct, but it has a slightly different structure.

Compare:

• antes de aceitar o empréstimo = before accepting the loan
• antes que você aceite o empréstimo = before you accept the loan

The first version is more compact and very natural. The second version is more explicit because it includes a subject and a conjugated verb.

After antes que, Portuguese uses the subjunctive:

• aceite

Because antes de aceitar o empréstimo is an introductory phrase before the main clause.

So the sentence is divided like this:

• Antes de aceitar o empréstimo, = introductory time expression
• compare a taxa e os juros. = main instruction

The comma helps mark that pause. In writing, this is very common and natural.

The accent shows the stressed syllable:

• em-PRÉS-ti-mo

Without the accent, the stress might be unclear or the spelling would be incorrect.

So the accent is important both for correct spelling and correct pronunciation.

Usually, yes. Empréstimo commonly means loan, especially in financial contexts.

Examples:

• fazer um empréstimo = to take out a loan
• pagar um empréstimo = to pay back a loan

It can also be used in non-financial contexts, like borrowing an object:

• pedir um livro por empréstimo = to borrow a book

So the core idea is something that is lent or borrowed, but in this sentence it clearly refers to a financial loan.