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Antes de desligar o portátil, deves terminar sessão.

Antes de desligar o portátil, deves terminar sessão.
Before turning off the laptop, you must sign out.
FromLesson 38inHardcore Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of Antes de desligar o portátil, deves terminar sessão.

de
of
antes
before
desligar
to turn off
dever
must
o portátil
the laptop
terminar sessão
to sign out

Questions & Answers about Antes de desligar o portátil, deves terminar sessão.

Why is deves used here? Could I say tens de or deve instead?
  • Deves is the 2nd‑person singular (tu) of dever in the present: mild obligation/advice, “you should.”
  • Tens de (or tens que) = “you have to,” stronger/more categorical.
  • Deve is 3rd‑person singular, used with você (polite/neutral in Portugal) or with he/she/it. Examples:
  • Tu: Antes de desligar o portátil, deves terminar sessão. (advice)
  • Tu: Antes de desligar o portátil, tens de terminar sessão. (stronger need)
  • Você/polite: Antes de desligar o portátil, deve terminar sessão.

Also note: dever de usually expresses probability (“must be” as a guess), so here you want plain dever, not dever de.

Where is the subject pronoun? Why not write tu?
Portuguese often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending shows the person. Deves already tells us it’s tu. You can add Tu for emphasis: Tu deves terminar sessão…, but it isn’t necessary.
Is antes de correct here? What about antes que?
  • The most common structure is antes de + infinitive: antes de desligar.
  • Antes que + subjunctive also exists but is less frequent and often has a “lest/before it can happen” nuance: Fecha o ficheiro antes que o computador se desligue. In your sentence, antes de is the natural choice.
Why is it antes de desligar and not antes de desligares?

Both are possible:

  • Antes de desligar = impersonal infinitive; the subject is understood from context (here, “you”).
  • Antes de desligares = personal/inflected infinitive; it explicitly marks the subject as tu. Use the personal infinitive if you want to make the subject explicit or if it’s different from the main clause:
  • Same subject: Antes de desligares o portátil, deves terminar sessão.
  • Different subject: Antes de eu desligar o portátil, tu deves terminar sessão.
Do I need the comma after the antes de phrase?

It’s recommended. In Portuguese, an initial adverbial phrase/clause like Antes de desligar o portátil is typically followed by a comma. If you move it to the end, you normally don’t use a comma:

  • Deves terminar sessão antes de desligar o portátil.
Why no article in terminar sessão? Could I say terminar a sessão?

Terminar sessão is a fixed UI expression in Portugal for “log out,” so it usually appears without an article. You can use an article if you specify which session:

  • Generic: terminar sessão
  • Specific: terminar a sessão do e‑mail
Are there other natural ways to say “log out” in Portugal?

Yes:

  • terminar sessão (very common in PT-PT UI)
  • encerrar sessão (also common)
  • sair da conta (everyday speech; in interfaces you’ll often just see Sair) Anglicisms like fazer logout are understood but are less standard in Portugal.
Why desligar and not apagar?
For devices, desligar is the default in Portugal: desligar o portátil/televisor/telemóvel. Apagar is more for lights, candles, a file on screen, etc. Some people do say apagar o computador, but desligar is safer and more standard.
What does portátil mean exactly? What about gender and plural?
In Portugal, o portátil as a noun means “laptop” (short for o computador portátil). It’s masculine; plural: os portáteis. Synonyms you’ll hear: o computador, sometimes o laptop informally. In Brazil, o notebook is more common.
Where would an object pronoun go if I replace o portátil with o?

Two natural options:

Can I change the word order?

Yes. These are all fine:

  • Antes de desligar o portátil, deves terminar sessão.
  • Deves terminar sessão antes de desligar o portátil.
  • Antes de desligares o portátil, deves terminar sessão.
Could I omit o portátil if the context is obvious?
Yes: Antes de desligar, deves terminar sessão. In context (talking about the computer you’re using), that’s completely natural.
How would I make it a direct command (imperative)?
  • Tu (informal): Termina a sessão antes de desligar o portátil.
  • Você/polite: Termine a sessão antes de desligar o portátil. A useful negative warning: Não desligues o portátil sem terminar sessão.
How do I pronounce the tricky bits in European Portuguese?
  • de ≈ “dɨ” (very short, almost like “duh” with a reduced vowel)
  • Final s in antes/deves sounds like “sh”
  • portátil stresses the middle syllable: por‑TÁ‑til
  • sessão ends with nasal ão (like the “ow” in “cow” but nasalized): se‑SÃO
  • desligar has a soft “zh” sound in -sli-: d(ɨ)zh‑lee‑GAHR
What’s the difference between deves and devias/deverias here?
  • Deves = “you should” (present; fairly direct advice/obligation).
  • Devias or deverias = “you should” but softer/more hypothetical; devias is more common in speech in Portugal. Example: Antes de desligar o portátil, devias terminar sessão. (gentler)
When do I use antes do/da instead of antes de?

Use antes de before verbs or nouns without an article; use the contracted form before a noun with a definite article:

  • Verb: antes de desligar
  • Noun without article: antes de jantar
  • Noun with article: antes do jantar / antes da reunião
Is this sentence understood in Brazil? What would change there?

It’s understood, but some words change:

  • Device: computador or notebook (not portátil as a noun)
  • Log out: encerrar sessão or, more commonly, sair da conta
  • Pronouns: você is the default in many regions A natural BR version: Antes de desligar o computador, você deve encerrar a sessão/sair da conta.
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