O motorista precisa verificar o pneu antes de pegar a estrada.

Portuguese uses definite articles much more often than English.

• o motorista = the driver
• o pneu = the tire
• a estrada = the road

In English, some of these might sound more natural without the in certain contexts, but in Portuguese the articles are normal and expected. In pegar a estrada, the article is especially natural because the whole expression is idiomatic.

No. Motorista is one of those nouns that usually keeps the same form for both genders.

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

So the article changes, but motorista stays the same.

Because precisa is the conjugated form that matches the subject o motorista.

The verb is precisar = to need.
In the present tense:

• eu preciso
• você/ele/ela precisa
• nós precisamos

Since o motorista is third-person singular, the correct form is precisa.

In Brazilian Portuguese, when precisar is followed by another verb, the normal pattern is:

precisar + infinitive

So:

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

But when precisar is followed by a noun, you usually use de:

• precisa de ajuda = needs help
• precisa de um pneu novo = needs a new tire

So in this sentence, precisa verificar is the natural structure.

Here verificar means something like to check, to inspect, or to make sure everything is OK.

It can sometimes sound a little more formal than everyday English check, but it is perfectly natural. Depending on context, Brazilians might also say:

• checar
• conferir
• dar uma olhada em

But verificar is clear and standard.

Because antes de is the normal structure before an infinitive in Portuguese.

So:

• antes de sair = before leaving
• antes de comer = before eating
• antes de pegar a estrada = before hitting the road / before setting out

This is a fixed pattern: antes de + infinitive.

Yes, pegar often means to take, to grab, to catch, or to get. But it is a very flexible verb, and in pegar a estrada it works like an idiomatic expression.

Here pegar a estrada means:

• to hit the road
• to set out
• to begin a road trip or drive

So it is not about physically grabbing a road. It is just a common way to talk about starting a journey by road.

These words are related, but they are not the same.

• rua = street, usually in a town or city
• estrada = road, especially for travel between places
• rodovia = highway, a more specific and often more formal term

In the expression pegar a estrada, estrada sounds natural because it suggests setting off on a trip or drive. Even if the actual route includes highways, estrada is a common everyday choice.

Good question. The singular o pneu can be understood in a general or context-based way, especially if the speaker is focusing on the tire as an important item to check.

But if you want to make it explicit that all tires should be checked, os pneus would be clearer:

• O motorista precisa verificar os pneus antes de pegar a estrada.

So the original sentence is grammatical, but the plural may sound more realistic in some contexts.

Yes. Portuguese allows some flexibility, especially with time expressions like antes de pegar a estrada.

For example, this is also natural:

Antes de pegar a estrada, o motorista precisa verificar o pneu.

That version puts the time idea first for emphasis. The meaning stays the same.

Yes. Tem que verificar is very common in spoken Brazilian Portuguese.

Compare:

• precisa verificar = needs to check
• tem que verificar = has to check / needs to check

Both are natural. Tem que often sounds a bit more conversational, while precisa can sound slightly more neutral or formal depending on context.

Usually antes de + infinitive works best when the subject is the same as the main clause, or when the subject is understood from context.

In this sentence, the person who needs to check and the person who will hit the road is the same: o motorista.

If you wanted a clearly different subject, Portuguese often uses antes que + subjunctive instead. For example:

• O motorista precisa verificar o pneu antes que o mecânico saia.

So in your sentence, antes de pegar a estrada is perfect because the subject is still o motorista.