Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Eu acho importante ter o seguro de viagem antes de sair do país. - I think it is important to have travel insurance before leaving the country.

acho importante + infinitive is a bit more compact and slightly more formal or written-sounding.
acho que é importante + infinitive is very natural in both speech and writing and is probably more frequent in everyday conversation.

Grammatically:

In "acho importante ter…", "importante" functions as a predicative adjective describing the action "ter o seguro de viagem".
In "acho que é importante ter…", you have a full subordinate clause:
- que é importante ter o seguro de viagem is what you “think”.

What exactly is the role of "importante" in "acho importante ter o seguro de viagem"?

Here’s the structure:

Eu acho [importante] [ter o seguro de viagem]

You can think of it as:

I consider [having travel insurance] [important].

So:

"ter o seguro de viagem" = the action (“having travel insurance”)
"importante" = the adjective that evaluates that action

This is the same pattern as:

Eu acho bonito viver aqui. – I think living here is nice.
Eu considero necessário estudar mais. – I consider it necessary to study more.

So "importante" is not just a loose adjective; it’s completing the meaning of "ter o seguro de viagem" in relation to "acho" (“I think this action is important”).

Why is "ter" (infinitive) used and not a conjugated verb?

After "acho importante", Portuguese uses the infinitive to refer to an action in general:

acho importante ter o seguro = I think having insurance is important.

You’re not saying who must have it in this phrase; it’s a general action.

Similarly:

É bom ler todos os dias. – It’s good to read every day.
É difícil encontrar estacionamento. – It’s hard to find parking.

Here the infinitive "ter" is like the English “-ing” form (having), used as a noun-like verb (“the act of having”).

Why is it "antes de sair do país" and not just "antes sair do país"?

In Portuguese, after "antes" when it is followed by a verb in the infinitive, you must use the preposition "de":

✅ antes de sair
❌ antes sair

This is a fixed pattern:

antes de comer – before eating
antes de estudar – before studying
antes de viajar – before travelling

So "antes de sair do país" is the correct form:
antes + de + infinitive.

Who is the subject of "sair" in "antes de sair do país"? Is it clear?

The subject of "sair" is implicitly the same as the subject of the main verb (Eu acho → I think).

So the meaning is:

before I leave the country

You could make the subject explicit:

antes de eu sair do país – before I leave the country

Both are grammatically correct. In European Portuguese:

Leaving the subject implicit (antes de sair) is very common and usually sounds more natural if the subject is clear from context.
Adding "eu" (antes de eu sair) adds clarity or emphasis if there could be confusion about who is leaving.

Why do we say "o seguro de viagem" and not just "seguro de viagem"?

Portuguese uses the definite article (o / a / os / as) much more than English does.

o seguro de viagem literally = the travel insurance

In this sentence, "o seguro de viagem" can be understood as:

the travel insurance in general, as a known concept, or
the travel insurance you will/should have for that trip

Saying just "seguro de viagem" (without “o”) is possible in some contexts (for example, in titles or lists), but in a full sentence like this one, a native European Portuguese speaker would almost always include the article:

✅ É importante ter o seguro de viagem.
❌ É importante ter seguro de viagem. (can occur, but sounds more elliptical or slogan-like)

What is the difference between "o seguro de viagem" and "um seguro de viagem"?

o seguro de viagem = the travel insurance
- refers to travel insurance as a known or specific thing (either in general or in the context of your trip).
um seguro de viagem = a travel insurance policy
- refers to one among several possible policies, non-specific.

Subtle nuance:

Eu acho importante ter o seguro de viagem…
→ more like “I think travel insurance is important (as something you should have for your trip).”
Eu acho importante ter um seguro de viagem…
→ “I think it is important to have a travel insurance policy (some policy, not specified which).”

Both are correct; "um seguro de viagem" makes you focus more on having a policy, whereas "o seguro de viagem" sounds a bit more generic or conceptual.

Why is it "do país" and not "de o país"?

Portuguese contracts certain prepositions with definite articles.
Here we have:

de (of/from) + o (the, masculine singular) → do

So:

do país = de o país

This contraction is mandatory in normal speech and writing:

do = de + o
da = de + a
dos = de + os
das = de + as

Examples:

do carro – from/of the car
da escola – from/of the school
dos livros – of the books
das cidades – of the cities

Why is it "seguro de viagem" and not "seguro de viagens"?

Both forms exist, but they don’t mean exactly the same thing.

seguro de viagem (singular):
- the standard, most common term for travel insurance as a product/service.
seguro de viagens (plural):
- can appear in some contexts, often in marketing or technical language, but is less common and can sound more like “insurance for trips (plural)” in a more abstract sense.

In everyday European Portuguese, the usual phrase is:

seguro de viagem = travel insurance

Can I change the word order to "Eu acho ter o seguro de viagem importante…"?

No. That word order is not natural or correct in Portuguese.

The standard pattern is:

acho importante [ter o seguro de viagem]

You cannot move "importante" to the end like in English (“I think having travel insurance is important”) and keep the same structure. Instead, you’d say:

Eu acho importante ter o seguro de viagem.
or
Eu acho que é importante ter o seguro de viagem.

Both are correct and natural.
"Eu acho ter o seguro de viagem importante" sounds ungrammatical.

Could I replace "acho" with "penso" or "considero" here?

Yes, with slightly different nuances:

Eu acho importante ter o seguro de viagem…
– very common, neutral: “I think it’s important…”
Eu penso que é importante ter o seguro de viagem…
– also common; "penso" often sounds a little more careful or reflective.
Eu considero importante ter o seguro de viagem…
– sounds a bit more formal or deliberate: “I consider it important…”

All three are correct in European Portuguese.
In casual conversation, "acho" is probably the most frequent verb.

Why is it "ter o seguro" and not a verb like "fazer" or "comprar"?

You can use other verbs with "seguro", but they emphasise different parts of the process:

ter o seguro de viagem – to have travel insurance (to be covered)
fazer um seguro de viagem – to take out / arrange a travel insurance policy
comprar um seguro de viagem – to buy a travel insurance policy
contratar um seguro de viagem – to take out / sign up for a policy (more formal)

In this sentence, the focus is on the state of being insured before leaving, not on the act of buying/arranging it. That’s why "ter o seguro" fits well:

ter o seguro de viagem antes de sair do país = to already have travel insurance before you leave the country.