dever: Softer Than ter de
Ter de says you HAVE to; dever says you SHOULD. It conjugates like any regular -er verb — devo, deves, deve, devemos, devem — and connects directly to an infinitive, no preposition:
| You should eat breakfast. | Deves comer o pequeno-almoço. |
| He should sleep: he is tired. | Ele deve dormir: está cansado. |
| I should study today. | Devo estudar hoje. |
Negated, it is advice against:
saber + Infinitive: Learned Ability
Poder is can in the sense of permission or possibility. For a SKILL — something you learned — Portuguese uses saber (to know) + infinitive: to know how to.
Its present is regular except the eu-form sei: sei, sabes, sabe, sabemos, sabem.
| I can speak Portuguese and English. | Sei falar português e inglês. |
| Do you know how to make dinner? — I do. | Sabes fazer o jantar? — Sei. |
| She can read Portuguese. | Ela sabe ler português. |
Compare: Ela pode ler — she may / is able to right now; Ela sabe ler — she has learned to. English says can for both; Portuguese never confuses them.
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