To report commands and instructions in Portuguese, use a reporting verb (like dizer, pedir, or avisar) followed by para and the personal infinitive.
Because the person giving the command is different from the person performing the action, the infinitive must be conjugated to match the subject of the second action.
Here is a quick refresher on regular personal infinitive endings:
| Subject | Ending |
|---|---|
| eu | (no ending) |
| tu | -es |
| ele / ela / você | (no ending) |
| nós | -mos |
| eles / elas / vocês | -em |
Reporting verb + para + (Subject) + Personal Infinitive
| Did the captain say for us to follow the arrow? | Será que o capitão disse para nós seguirmos a seta? |
| The organizers asked for us to be the fastest in the team. | Os organizadores pediram para nós sermos os mais rápidos da equipa. |
Inanimate subjects like messages, rules, and clues can also "tell" or "ask" you to do things. The structure remains exactly the same:
| The message says for us to run to the first checkpoint. | A mensagem diz para nós corrermos até ao primeiro posto. |
| The clue asks for you to find the exact coordinate. | A pista pede para tu encontrares a coordenada exata. |
You can specify exactly who is receiving the command by attaching an object pronoun to the main reporting verb:
| Tell them to read the coordinate on the map. | Diz-lhes para lerem a coordenada no mapa. |
| Ask her to bring the green vest. | Pede-lhe para ela trazer o colete verde. |
Because the endings of the personal infinitive clearly show who is performing the action (e.g., -mos tells us it's nós), you can often drop the subject pronoun entirely.
For negative commands, simply place não between para and the personal infinitive:
| The clue says for us to climb the highest mountain in the park. | A pista diz para escalarmos a montanha mais alta do parque. |
| I warned them not to climb that rock. | Avisei-os para não escalarem aquela rocha. |