Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Antes de comprar, vamos avaliar os preços e ajustar o orçamento. - Before buying, we will assess the prices and adjust the budget.

With a noun: antes da compra.
With an infinitive (same subject implied): antes de comprar.
With an explicit subject in the infinitive: antes de comprarmos.
With a full finite clause (more formal), you can use antes que
- present subjunctive: antes que compremos.

Can I say antes de comprarmos instead of antes de comprar?

Yes. Antes de comprarmos uses the personal infinitive, making it explicit that the subject of comprar is nós. Both forms are correct:

Antes de comprar is neutral and common.
Antes de comprarmos adds clarity/emphasis on the subject. If the subject were different, you would change it: antes de comprarem (before they buy).

Does vamos avaliar mean “let’s evaluate” or “we are going to evaluate”?

Both are possible:

Hortative (let’s): Vamos avaliar… = Let’s evaluate…
Near future: Vamos avaliar… = We’re going to evaluate… Context and intonation disambiguate. If you want to clearly say “let’s,” you can also use Vamos lá avaliar… (very natural).

Why not use the simple future like avaliaremos or ajustaremos?

You can, but it’s more formal and much less common in everyday speech. Vamos avaliar/ajustar is the default in conversation. Note: Iremos avaliar is also possible in formal contexts, but it does not carry the “let’s” meaning.

Do I need to say nós before vamos?

No. Portuguese is a pro‑drop language, and the verb form vamos already shows the subject. Nós vamos… is used only for emphasis or contrast.

Why is it os preços and not just preços?

Portuguese uses the definite article more often than English does. Os preços can refer to prices in general (generic) or contextually specific prices. You could say avaliar preços, but that sounds more technical/indefinite; avaliar os preços is the more natural default in many contexts.

Why are the articles masculine (os, o)? Are preços and orçamento masculine nouns?

Yes. Preço is masculine (plural preços) and orçamento is masculine (plural orçamentos). Hence os preços and o orçamento.

Should it be o nosso orçamento instead of o orçamento?

Use o nosso orçamento if you want to explicitly say “our budget.” In European Portuguese, possessives commonly take the definite article: o nosso orçamento, a nossa casa. In the original sentence, o orçamento is understood from context (the relevant/shared budget), so the possessive isn’t required.

Could I replace avaliar with comparar or analisar?

Avaliar = assess/evaluate (broader; may include comparing, judging value, suitability).
Comparar = compare (specifically set items side by side).
Analisar = analyze (look at details systematically). Depending on your intent, any could work: comparar os preços if you’re explicitly comparing; avaliar os preços if you’re generally assessing whether they’re acceptable.

What’s the difference between preços and custos?

Preços are the selling prices you see as a buyer.
Custos are costs (what it costs the company to produce or what you incur internally). As a shopper you typically compara preços; a business tracks custos.

Is the comma after Antes de comprar necessary?

Yes, it’s standard to set off an initial adverbial phrase/clause with a comma in Portuguese. Antes de comprar, … is the recommended punctuation.

Any European Portuguese pronunciation tips for this sentence?

vamos: final s sounds like “sh” before a consonant; roughly vah-mush.
avaliar: stress on the last syllable ‑ar; the lh is like the ‘lli’ in “million.”
os preços: os before consonant sounds like “ush”; ç is an “s” sound.
ajustar: j sounds like the “zh” in “vision.”
orçamento: initial o is fairly closed; ç again is “s”; men is slightly nasal; stress on -men-: or-ça-MEN-to. These are approximations, but they’ll steer you toward EP sounds.

Can I say Antes da compra instead of Antes de comprar?

Yes. Antes da compra uses a noun phrase (before the purchase) and is a bit more formal or document-like. Antes de comprar is the verb form and is very natural in speech and writing. Meaning is essentially the same; choose based on style.

Why not vamos de avaliar?

Because ir + infinitive in Portuguese does not take a preposition. It’s simply vamos avaliar. Adding de is incorrect here.

Can I swap the order of the two actions?

Yes. You can say Vamos ajustar o orçamento e avaliar os preços. Both orders are grammatical; choose the one that reflects your intended sequence or emphasis.

If the budget had already been mentioned, could I replace o orçamento with a pronoun?

Yes. In affirmative sentences, attach the clitic to the infinitive: Vamos ajustá-lo. In the negative, you can place it before the auxiliary or attach it to the infinitive:

Não o vamos ajustar.
Não vamos ajustá-lo.