Eu vou afiar a faca antes de cortar o pão.

I am going to sharpen the knife before cutting the bread.

Breakdown of Eu vou afiar a faca antes de cortar o pão.

• eu: I
• o pão: the bread
• de: of
• ir: to go
• antes: before
• cortar: to cut
• a faca: the knife
• afiar: to sharpen

Questions & Answers about Eu vou afiar a faca antes de cortar o pão.

Can I drop the subject pronoun Eu?

Yes. European Portuguese is a “null-subject” language, so Eu is often omitted when the subject is clear from the verb or context. Both are correct:

• Eu vou afiar a faca... (with emphasis on “I”)
• Vou afiar a faca... (more natural in everyday speech)

Why is it vou afiar and not irei afiar or just afio?

• vou + infinitive expresses a near/definite future plan, very common in speech: Vou afiar...
• irei afiar is a simple future; it sounds more formal/distant or written.
• afio is present tense and usually reads as a habit/general truth: Sempre afio a faca antes de cortar o pão (I always do this).

Why is it antes de cortar and not just antes cortar?

After antes, you need the preposition de before a verb in the infinitive: antes de cortar.
If you use a finite clause instead of an infinitive, use antes que + subjunctive: antes que eu corte o pão.

Can I say antes do cortar?

No, not here. do = de + o only contracts when o is the article. With a verb, keep de: antes de cortar.
Compare:

• Before the bread (noun with article): antes do pão
• Before cutting it (pronoun, not article): antes de o cortar (no contraction to “do”)

If I replace o pão with a pronoun, where does it go?

Two correct options in European Portuguese after a preposition + infinitive:

• Proclitic: antes de o cortar
• Enclitic (very natural): antes de cortá-lo
  Note there is no contraction to “do” in de o because that o is a pronoun, not an article.

With the main verb too:

• Vou afiá-la (replace a faca) antes de cortá-lo (replace o pão).

Why use the definite articles a faca and o pão? Could I say uma faca or just pão?

• a faca / o pão = specific, identifiable items (the knife and the bread in this context).
• uma faca = any knife, not a specific one: Vou afiar uma faca...
• pão without article often treats bread as a mass/indefinite: ...antes de cortar pão.
  Portuguese uses articles more than English for specific, known items.

Can I front the time clause?

Yes: Antes de cortar o pão, vou afiar a faca.
Put a comma after the fronted clause. Meaning stays the same.

Is there a difference between cortar, fatiar, and partir with bread?

• cortar = cut (general; with a knife)
• fatiar = slice (making slices; very natural with bread): fatiar o pão
• partir = break/split (often by hand, or just “cut” in some regions): partir o pão

Pronunciation tips for European Portuguese?

• Eu [eu]
• vou [vo]
• afiar [ɐ-fi-AR] (final r is a light tap)
• a faca [ɐ FA-kɐ]
• antes [ˈɐ̃-tɨʃ] (final s like “sh”)
• de [dɨ] (reduced vowel)
• cortar [kur-TAR] (light tapped r)
• o (article) [u] before consonant
• pão [pɐ̃w̃] (nasal “ão”)

Key points: vowel reduction in unstressed syllables, final -s often sounds like “sh,” word-final/infinitive -r is soft, and ão is nasal.

Is amolar a good alternative to afiar in Portugal?

In Portugal, the standard is afiar for knives. amolar is rare/marked in European Portuguese (more common in Brazil or in older/regional usage). Stick with afiar.

How do I negate the sentence?

Place não before the conjugated verb:

• Eu não vou afiar a faca antes de cortar o pão.

Can I use the personal infinitive with antes de?

Yes, Portuguese allows a personal infinitive to mark who performs the action:

• 1st person plural: Antes de cortarmos o pão, vou afiar a faca.
• 2nd person singular (tu): Afia a faca antes de cortares o pão.
• With “eu,” the form coincides with the base: Antes de eu cortar o pão... (also correct).

What about the imperative if I’m telling someone to do it?

• With tu (informal): Afia a faca antes de cortares o pão.
• With você (polite/neutral): Afie a faca antes de cortar o pão.

Is o pão countable? How do I form the plural?

pão can be mass (“bread”) or a countable item (a loaf/roll). The plural is irregular: pães.

• Mass: Não como pão à noite.
• Countable: Comprei dois pães.

Why is it antes de cortar o pão and not para cortar o pão?

• antes de = before doing something (time sequence).
• para
  • infinitive = in order to/for the purpose of: Vou afiar a faca para cortar o pão = I’m sharpening it so that I can cut the bread (purpose), not time-order.

Do I ever need a comma before antes de?

• Mid-sentence, no comma is needed: Vou afiar a faca antes de cortar o pão.
• If you front the clause, use a comma: Antes de cortar o pão, vou afiar a faca.

Any European vs. Brazilian Portuguese differences here?

The sentence itself is fine in both. Differences to note:

• Brazil often pronounces final r like an English “h”; Portugal uses a light tap.
• In Brazil, amolar is common for sharpening; in Portugal, afiar is standard.
• Clitics: EP comfortably uses antes de o cortar / cortá-lo; BP increasingly prefers antes de cortar o pão or even antes de cortar ele (colloquial), though cortá-lo is also used in formal BP.