A criança pega na mão da mãe antes de atravessar a rua.

In European Portuguese, pegar em is a very common pattern meaning to take hold of, to grab, or to touch/handle something.

So:

• pegar em alguma coisa = to take hold of something
• pegar na mão = to take someone’s hand / hold the hand

In this sentence, A criança pega na mão da mãe means the child takes hold of the mother’s hand.

If you say pegar a mão, that may sound less natural in this context in Portugal. The version with em is the normal idiomatic choice here.

Na is a contraction of:

• em
  • a = na

So:

• na mão = in the hand / on the hand, but in this expression it is best understood as part of pegar em

This is very common in Portuguese. Other examples:

• no = em + o
• nos = em + os
• nas = em + as

So pega na mão literally contains em, even though it appears in the contracted form na.

Da is another contraction:

• de
  • a = da

So:

• a mão da mãe = the mother’s hand / literally the hand of the mother

Portuguese often expresses possession with de:

• o carro do pai = the father’s car
• a casa da avó = the grandmother’s house

So a mão da mãe is the normal way to say the mother’s hand.

Pega is the 3rd person singular of the present indicative of pegar.

The verb forms are:

• eu pego
• tu pegas
• ele/ela/você pega
• nós pegamos
• vós pegais
• eles/elas/vocês pegam

Here, a criança is singular, so the verb is pega.

In a sentence like this, the present can describe:

• a habitual action
• a general truth
• a scene being described in a vivid way

Portuguese usually uses an article where English sometimes does not.

• A criança = the child

Without the article, criança would usually not work as the subject in a normal sentence like this.

So Portuguese prefers:

• A criança pega... not
• Criança pega...

The article makes the noun phrase complete and natural.

After antes de, Portuguese very often uses the infinitive.

So:

• antes de atravessar a rua = before crossing the street

This is especially common when the subject of both actions is the same. In this sentence, the child both:

• pega na mão da mãe and
• atravessa a rua

So the infinitive is the natural choice.

By default, the understood subject is the same as the subject of the main verb, unless something else makes it clear.

So in:

• A criança pega na mão da mãe antes de atravessar a rua

the most natural reading is that the child crosses the street.

The structure suggests:

• The child takes the mother’s hand before crossing the street.

If Portuguese wants to make a different subject clear, it usually says so more explicitly.

Because atravessar normally takes a direct object in this meaning.

So:

• atravessar a rua = to cross the street
• atravessar a ponte = to cross the bridge
• atravessar o rio = to cross the river

No extra preposition is needed.

This works very much like English to cross the street.

They are related, but not exactly identical.

• pegar na mão da mãe = to take hold of the mother’s hand
• dar a mão à mãe = to give one’s hand to the mother

Both can fit similar situations, but the perspective is different:

• pegar na mão focuses on grabbing or holding
• dar a mão focuses on offering the hand

In this sentence, pega na mão da mãe sounds very natural for the action of a child reaching for the mother’s hand.

Because mão is simply one of the nouns that are feminine in Portuguese:

• a mão
• a mão da mãe

This can surprise learners because many nouns ending in -o are masculine, but mão is an irregular case.

Its plural is also irregular:

• a mão
• as mãos

So this is one of those nouns that you mostly just have to learn as a fixed item: a mão.

Antes means before.

In this sentence, it introduces the action that happens later:

• first: a criança pega na mão da mãe
• then: atravessar a rua

So antes de atravessar a rua means before crossing the street.

You will often see:

• antes de sair = before leaving
• antes de comer = before eating
• antes de dormir = before sleeping

Mãe has a nasal sound, which is very important in Portuguese.

The ã shows nasalisation, so the word is not pronounced like a plain mae. The ending sounds roughly like a nasal eye sound, though there is no perfect English equivalent.

The accent mark tells you this is not a simple oral vowel. In European Portuguese, nasal vowels are a key part of pronunciation.

The same kind of nasal sound appears in words like:

• pão
• irmã
• cães

So in mãe, pay special attention to the nasal vowel.

It is singular.

• a criança = the child
• as crianças = the children

Even though criança can refer to either a boy or a girl, it is grammatically singular in this sentence, which is why the verb is also singular:

• A criança pega...

It is a common noun for child, without specifying gender.

Yes, to some extent. Portuguese allows some flexibility.

For example, you could also say:

• Antes de atravessar a rua, a criança pega na mão da mãe.

This puts more emphasis on the time relationship first: Before crossing the street...

But the original order is completely natural:

• A criança pega na mão da mãe antes de atravessar a rua.

So both are possible, with a slightly different focus rather than a different basic meaning.