Segure o corrimão ao descer para a catraca, porque o chão está molhado.

Hold the handrail as you go down to the turnstile, because the floor is wet.

Breakdown of Segure o corrimão ao descer para a catraca, porque o chão está molhado.

• estar: to be
• para: to
• porque: because
• molhado: wet

Questions & Answers about Segure o corrimão ao descer para a catraca, porque o chão está molhado.

Why is it segure and not segurar or segura?

Segure is the imperative form of the verb segurar (to hold), used here as a command: Hold the handrail.

In standard Brazilian Portuguese:

• segurar = infinitive, to hold
• segure = command directed to você
• segura can appear in informal speech, but segure is the standard form you would expect in instructions, signs, or announcements

So:

• Segure o corrimão = Hold the handrail

This sentence sounds like a polite or neutral public instruction.

Why does the sentence use o corrimão?

Corrimão means handrail or railing, and it is a masculine noun in Portuguese, so it takes o:

• o corrimão = the handrail

You just have to learn its gender with the noun. A useful habit is to memorize nouns together with their articles:

• o corrimão
• a catraca
• o chão

What does ao descer mean exactly?