Question 1

Why do we use os before amigos? Can I say “Eu aviso amigos antes de jantar”?

Accepted Answer

In European Portuguese, it’s common to use the definite article with plural nouns when speaking generally. os amigos means “the/my friends.” Without os, aviso amigos sounds like “I warn some friends” and is less natural. You can drop it, but most native speakers include the article.

Question 2

Do I have to include the subject eu in “Eu aviso os amigos antes de jantar”?

Accepted Answer

No. Portuguese is a pro-drop language: the verb ending -o already signals the first-person singular. You can simply say Aviso os amigos antes de jantar. Including eu adds emphasis or clarity but isn’t required.

Question 3

Why is the verb aviso in the present tense if I’m talking about a future action?

Accepted Answer

Portuguese often uses the present indicative to talk about planned or imminent future events. Here, antes de jantar (“before dinner”) makes it clear you’ll warn your friends later, so the present tense aviso works like a future.

Question 4

What does antes de + infinitive mean, and why is jantar an infinitive here?

Accepted Answer

antes de means “before.” When the subject of both verbs is the same, you follow antes de with the infinitive. So antes de jantar means “before (I) eat/have dinner.” If you need a different subject, you’d use the subjunctive or personal infinitive.

Question 5

In antes de jantar, is jantar a verb (“to dine”) or a noun (“dinner”)?

Accepted Answer

It’s a verb in the infinitive (“to have dinner”). If you wanted the noun “dinner,” you’d say antes do jantar (using the article do = de + o).

Question 6

Can I say antes que eu jante instead of antes de jantar?

Accepted Answer

Yes. antes que eu jante uses the subjunctive when you explicitly state the subject. It’s more formal. antes de jantar is more common in everyday speech when the subject stays the same.

Question 7

Why don’t I need an article before jantar in antes de jantar?

Accepted Answer

Because jantar here is the infinitive form of the verb, not a noun. Articles are only used when jantar functions as a noun (o jantar, “the dinner”).

Question 8

Could I say aviso aos amigos antes de jantar instead?

Accepted Answer

You could, treating amigos as an indirect object (“to my friends”), but the more natural construction is the transitive aviso os amigos (“I inform the friends”). Use avisar aos amigos mainly when specifying what you’re informing them about (e.g., Aviso aos amigos da mudança de plano).

Eu aviso os amigos antes de jantar.

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