Põe o cinto de segurança antes de conduzir.

Put on the seat belt before driving.

Breakdown of Põe o cinto de segurança antes de conduzir.

• antes de: before
• pôr: to put on
• conduzir: to drive
• o cinto de segurança: the seat belt

Questions & Answers about Põe o cinto de segurança antes de conduzir.

What does Põe mean here, and who am I talking to?

Põe is the affirmative imperative of the verb pôr (to put, to put on) for the informal second person singular (tu). So you’re telling one person you’re on a tu basis with: Put on the seat belt before driving.

How would I say this politely or formally in Portugal?

Use the você-based imperative: Ponha o cinto de segurança antes de conduzir. You can also say, Por favor, ponha o cinto de segurança antes de conduzir for extra politeness, or address someone respectfully with o senhor/a senhora: Senhor, ponha…

What are the main imperative forms of pôr (EP)?

• tu: põe
• você: ponha
• nós (let’s…): ponhamos
• vocês: ponham
• vós (rare/archaic): ponde Negative with tu uses the present subjunctive: Não ponhas…

Why is there an article o before cinto de segurança? Why not say “your” seat belt?

Portuguese often uses the definite article with possessions and body-related items where English uses a possessive. In a car context, o cinto (the belt) is understood as your seat belt. You’d only use o teu cinto (your belt) to emphasize whose belt it is.

Can I shorten cinto de segurança to just cinto?

Yes. In a car context, Põe o cinto is very common and perfectly clear. Use cinto de segurança when you need to be explicit or formal.

Is mete o cinto okay? What about aperta o cinto?

• Mete o cinto (from meter) is very common in European Portuguese, slightly informal/colloquial.
• Aperta o cinto means fasten your seat belt (tighten/secure it), which is the standard phrasing on planes and cars for “fasten seat belt.”
• Coloca o cinto is fine and a bit more neutral/formal.

Why is it antes de conduzir and not just antes conduzir or antes do conduzir?

Antes is used with de before a verb in the infinitive: antes de + infinitive. You can say antes de conduzir. You would use do/da after antes only with a noun: antes do jantar (before dinner). Antes conduzir is ungrammatical in this sense.

Could I say antes que instead of antes de? When?

• Use antes de + infinitive when the subject is the same in both parts: Põe… antes de conduzir.
• Use antes que + present subjunctive when there is a different subject or you want a full finite clause: Põe o cinto antes que ele conduza (…before he drives).

Is antes de conduzires also correct?

Yes. That uses the personal infinitive to mark the subject explicitly (tu): Põe o cinto… antes de conduzires. In speech, antes de conduzir (subject inferred) is more common unless you need clarity or emphasis.

Is pôr reflexive here? Should it be pôr-se?

No. With clothing you may see reflexives (vestir-se), but with seat belts the natural pattern is a simple transitive verb: pôr/prender/apertar o cinto. So Põe o cinto is the idiomatic choice, not Põe-te o cinto.

How do I say this to more than one person?

Use vocês imperative: Ponham o cinto de segurança antes de conduzir. You can use plural “cintos” too: Ponham os cintos (de segurança). Both singular and plural are heard; the plural makes the distributive meaning explicit.

How would I replace cinto de segurança with a pronoun?

In the affirmative imperative, object pronouns attach to the verb with a hyphen. Because põe ends in a nasal sound, o becomes no:

• tu: Põe-no. (Put it on.)
• você: Ponha-o. Note: In everyday speech, people usually repeat the noun (Põe o cinto) rather than use Põe-no.

What’s the difference between pôr and por (without accent)?

• pôr (with circumflex) is the verb to put/put on.
• por (no accent) is the preposition by/through/for. The accent distinguishes them in writing.

Is conduzir the usual verb for “to drive” in Portugal? What about dirigir?

Yes, conduzir is the standard verb for driving a vehicle in Portugal. Dirigir in Portugal typically means to manage/run (a company) or to address (an audience), not to drive.

How do you pronounce the whole sentence in European Portuguese?

Rough guide (EP): [ˈpõj u ˈsĩtu dɨ sɨɣuˈɾɐ̃sɐ ˈɐ̃tɨʃ dɨ kõduˈziɾ] Tips:

• põe ≈ “poy” with a nasalized o.
• o (before a consonant) sounds like “u.”
• de reduces to dɨ.
• antes ends with a “sh” sound: -s → /ʃ/.
• r at the end of conduzir is a soft /ɾ/.

How would I negate it: “Don’t put on the seat belt before driving”?

Use the negative imperative (subjunctive form for tu): Não ponhas o cinto de segurança antes de conduzir. (For você: Não ponha…)