Para evitares quedas, não deves pisar superfícies muito escorregadias.

To avoid falls, you must not step on very slippery surfaces.

Breakdown of Para evitares quedas, não deves pisar superfícies muito escorregadias.

• muito: very
• não: not
• para: to
• evitar: to avoid
• a superfície: the surface
• a queda: the fall
• pisar: to step on
• escorregadia: slippery

Questions & Answers about Para evitares quedas, não deves pisar superfícies muito escorregadias.

Why is the verb form evitares used instead of the plain infinitive evitar?

In European Portuguese, when the subject of an infinitive clause is the same as the subject of the main clause (here, the implied “you”), the personal infinitive is often employed. Evitares is the second person singular personal infinitive form of evitar, which directly addresses you. This form makes the recommendation more personalised compared to the impersonal evitar.

What is the difference between saying não deves pisar and using a command like não pises?

Both forms express a prohibition, but they convey slightly different nuances. Não deves pisar uses the modal verb dever (“should” or “ought to”), suggesting advice or a recommendation rather than a strict command. On the other hand, não pises is the negative imperative form and sounds like a direct order. The choice depends on whether the speaker intends to recommend a safe behaviour or to issue a firm command.

Why is there no subject pronoun like tu explicitly mentioned in não deves pisar superfícies muito escorregadias?

Portuguese is a pro-drop language, which means that the subject pronoun is often omitted because the verb conjugation already makes it clear. In não deves, the ending -es indicates that the implied subject is tu. Therefore, including the subject pronoun would be redundant.

How do the adjective escorregadias and the noun superfícies agree in this sentence?

In Portuguese, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify. Here, superfícies is a feminine plural noun. As a result, the adjective escorregadias takes the feminine plural form to match, ensuring proper agreement between the adjective and the noun.

Could the sentence have used the standard infinitive evitar instead of evitares?

While you may sometimes see para evitar quedas in more impersonal or general recommendations, using evitares specifically targets you, the person being advised. In European Portuguese, employing the personal infinitive (in this case, evitares) when the subject is understood (i.e., tu) is very common, as it clarifies that the advice applies directly to you.

Why isn’t a preposition like em required before superfícies after pisar?

In Portuguese, the verb pisar can sometimes be used transitively without a preposition when referring to stepping on something, especially in fixed expressions or idiomatic constructions. Although you might also hear pisar em superfícies, both forms are acceptable. In this sentence, the omission of em is idiomatic and perfectly natural in everyday language.