Questions & Answers about Não esqueças o cinto.
Why is it “esqueças” and not “esquece”?
Because it’s a negative command directed at “tu.” In Portuguese, all negative imperatives use the present subjunctive form. For “tu,” that’s não esqueças. The affirmative imperative would be esquece (but “Esquece o cinto” would mean “Forget the belt,” which is not what you want).
Can I say “Não esquece o cinto”?
Not as a command. Não esquece is present indicative (“you don’t forget”), not the negative imperative. For a command to “tu,” use Não esqueças o cinto.
Is there a more common way to say this in Portugal using the pronominal form?
Yes. In European Portuguese the pronominal verb is very common: Não te esqueças do cinto.
- te goes before the verb because of the negation não.
- de + o contracts to do: de o cinto → do cinto.
What’s the difference between “esquecer” and “esquecer-se de”?
- esquecer + direct object: “to forget something.” Common in writing and in Brazil; correct in Portugal too. Example: Esqueci o livro.
- esquecer-se de + noun/infinitive: “to forget about something / to forget to do something.” Very common in European Portuguese speech. Examples: Esqueci-me do livro. / Não te esqueças de ligar. With the pronominal form, don’t drop the de: it’s esquecer-se de.
Why “o cinto” and not just “cinto”?
Portuguese uses the definite article with specific known items more than English does. Here it’s “the belt/seatbelt,” so o cinto is natural. Não esqueças cinto is ungrammatical.
Does “cinto” here mean “seatbelt”?
Yes. In driving contexts, cinto is short for cinto de segurança. Without that context, cinto can mean a clothing belt.
How do I make it formal or plural?
- Formal singular (você / o senhor, a senhora): Não se esqueça do cinto.
- Plural (vocês): Não se esqueçam do cinto.
- First‑person plural (inclusive “let’s not…”): Não nos esqueçamos do cinto. (less common in speech)
Where do pronouns go with negation?
Negation triggers proclisis (pronoun before the verb): Não te esqueças do cinto. In affirmative commands, the pronoun usually attaches after the verb with a hyphen: Esquece-te do cinto.
How do I say “Don’t forget to put on/fasten your seatbelt”?
- Não te esqueças de pôr o cinto (de segurança).
- Não te esqueças de meter o cinto. (very natural in Portugal)
- Não te esqueças de apertar o cinto. (“fasten the seatbelt”) You can also just give a direct command: Põe/Mete o cinto or Aperta o cinto.
Can I replace “o cinto” with a pronoun?
Yes, but it depends on the structure:
- With transitive esquecer: Não o esqueças. (“Don’t forget it.”)
- With esquecer-se de: use a prepositional pronoun: Não te esqueças dele. / Não te esqueças disso. For actions: Não te esqueças de o trazer or (more idiomatic) Não te esqueças de trazê-lo.
Why is there a “ç” in “esqueças”?
The cedilla ç keeps the “s” sound before “a,” “o,” or “u.” Without it, esquecas would be pronounced with a “k” sound (“-ke-”), not “-se-.” Hence esqueças.
How do you pronounce “Não esqueças o cinto” (roughly)?
Something like: “naun ish-KEH-sas oo SEEN-too.”
- Não: nasal “-ão” (like “ow” but nasal).
- esqueças: initial “es-” before a consonant sounds like “ish-,” and “ç” gives an “s” sound: “ish-KEH-sas.”
- o is often like “oo,” and cinto is “SEEN-too.”
Is “Não esqueças o cinto” too strong or rude?
It’s a direct, informal command to “tu.” To soften it, add por favor or a tag:
- Por favor, não te esqueças do cinto.
- Não te esqueças do cinto, está bem? For politeness or distance, use Não se esqueça do cinto.
Is “Não te esqueças o cinto” correct?
No. With the pronominal form you must use de: Não te esqueças do cinto (not “o cinto”).
Should I add a possessive, like “o teu cinto”?
Usually no. Portuguese often uses the definite article where English uses a possessive for clothing/body parts. Não te esqueças do cinto already implies “your seatbelt.” Use o teu cinto only if you need to distinguish it from someone else’s belt.
More from this lesson
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“What's the best way to learn Portuguese grammar?”
Portuguese grammar becomes intuitive with practice. Focus on understanding the core patterns first — how sentences are structured, how verbs change form, and how words relate to each other. Our course breaks these concepts into small lessons so you can build understanding step by step.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning PortugueseMaster Portuguese — from Não esqueças o cinto to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.
- ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions