Breakdown of Antes que vocês saiam, confirmem se já há salmão fresco na peixaria.
Questions & Answers about Antes que vocês saiam, confirmem se já há salmão fresco na peixaria.
Because antes que normally triggers the subjunctive in Portuguese.
Here, saiam is the present subjunctive form of sair. The idea is that the leaving has not happened yet, so Portuguese uses the subjunctive after antes que.
- antes que vocês saiam = before you leave
- antes que vocês saem is not correct in standard Portuguese
This is one of those structures you usually just learn as a pattern:
- antes que + subjunctive
Because the clause introduced by antes que refers to a future or still-unrealized action.
In this sentence:
- vocês saiam does not mean they are leaving now
- it means the action of leaving is still pending
So Portuguese uses the present subjunctive:
- eu saia
- tu saias
- você/ele/ela saia
- nós saiamos
- vocês/eles/elas saiam
Even though English just says before you leave, Portuguese marks this more clearly with the subjunctive.
Yes. Antes de vocês saírem is also correct and very natural.
So these are both possible:
- Antes que vocês saiam...
- Antes de vocês saírem...
The second one uses the personal infinitive: saírem.
A useful rule is:
- antes de + infinitive/personal infinitive
- antes que + subjunctive
Both can express before you leave, though the structure changes.
Examples:
- Antes de sair, fecha a janela. = Before leaving, close the window.
- Antes que ele saia, fala com ele. = Before he leaves, speak to him.
- Antes de vocês saírem, avisem-me. = Before you leave, let me know.
Because confirmem is the affirmative imperative form for vocês.
The sentence is giving a command/instruction:
- confirmem = confirm / check
For você and vocês, the affirmative imperative uses the same form as the present subjunctive:
- você confirme
- vocês confirmem
So:
- confirmem = correct
- confirmam = present indicative, meaning you/they confirm
Compare:
- Vocês confirmam sempre tudo. = You always confirm everything.
- Confirmem isso agora. = Confirm that now.
Because vocês takes third-person plural verb forms in Portuguese.
That is a very important point for English speakers. Even though vocês means you (plural), the verb behaves like they:
- vocês saem / saiam
- vocês confirmam / confirmem
So grammatically:
- vocês = second-person meaning
- but third-person plural verb agreement
This is normal in modern Portuguese.
Here, se means if or whether.
It introduces an indirect yes/no question:
- confirmem se já há salmão fresco na peixaria
- literally: confirm if/whether there is already fresh salmon at the fish shop
It is not reflexive here.
Compare:
- Não sei se ele vem. = I don’t know if/whether he is coming.
- Verifica se está aberto. = Check if it’s open.
So in this sentence, se = whether is probably the best way to understand it.
Há here means there is or there are.
It comes from the verb haver, which can be used impersonally to express existence:
- há salmão fresco = there is fresh salmon
- há muitas pessoas = there are many people
A key point:
When haver means there is/there are, it stays in the singular.
So even with a plural noun, Portuguese still says:
- há dois livros = there are two books
Not:
- hão dois livros ❌
In European Portuguese, this use of haver is very normal and standard.
Because salmão here is being used in a general, non-specific way, like a product or food item.
- há salmão fresco = there is fresh salmon / they have fresh salmon
This is similar to English, where you would also usually say fresh salmon, not a fresh salmon, unless you mean one whole fish.
If you added an article, it would usually change the meaning and sound more specific:
- há o salmão fresco would suggest some particular salmon already known in the conversation, which is not what this sentence means
So the zero article is the natural choice here.
Na peixaria means at the fish shop / fishmonger’s.
It is made from:
- em = in / at
- a = the
- em + a = na
So:
- na peixaria = in/at the fish shop
Peixaria in Portugal usually refers to the place where fish is sold. Depending on context, English could translate it as:
- fish shop
- fishmonger’s
- fish counter
Because in Portuguese, adjectives often come after the noun.
So:
- salmão fresco = fresh salmon
- pão quente = hot bread
- vinho branco = white wine
For an English speaker, this can feel reversed, because English usually puts adjectives before the noun.
Putting fresco after the noun is the normal, neutral order here.
Já means already here.
It modifies the idea of availability:
- já há salmão fresco = there is already fresh salmon
This suggests that the speaker wants to know whether the salmon is available by now.
Without já, the sentence would simply ask whether there is fresh salmon. With já, it adds the sense of already / by this point / now.
Yes, vocês is correct in European Portuguese, and the sentence is perfectly grammatical.
That said, in Portugal, people often omit the pronoun when it is clear from the verb form. So you may also hear:
- Antes que saiam, confirmem se já há salmão fresco na peixaria.
Or a version with the personal infinitive:
- Antes de saírem, confirmem se já há salmão fresco na peixaria.
So vocês is not wrong at all, but in everyday European Portuguese the pronoun is often left out unless there is a reason to stress it.
Because the sentence begins with a subordinate clause:
- Antes que vocês saiam = before you leave
Then comes the main clause:
- confirmem se já há salmão fresco na peixaria
In Portuguese, when this kind of introductory clause comes first, using a comma is standard and natural:
- Antes que vocês saiam, confirmem...
It works much like English:
- Before you leave, check...
So the comma helps separate the introductory time clause from the main instruction.