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### Reporting Commands in the Past

When you quote a command or an instruction directly, you usually use the imperative mood ("Drink more water!"). However, when you report that someone gave a command in the past, the grammar must shift. 

If the reporting verb is in the past tense—such as **mandar** (to order) or **aconselhar** (to advise)—the verb from the original command shifts into the imperfect subjunctive.

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### The Imperfect Subjunctive

You can recognize the imperfect subjunctive by its characteristic double-s. It is formed using the third-person plural of the simple past as a base, taking these endings: **-sse**, **-sses**, **-sse**, **-ssemos**, and **-ssem**.

When reporting advice for the **nós** (we) form, pay special attention to the written accent. Because the stress falls on the antepenultimate syllable, verbs get an acute or circumflex accent on the vowel right before the ending (like **-ássemos**, **-êssemos**, or **-íssemos**).

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### Reporting Dietary Advice

You will use this grammar frequently when relaying lifestyle changes prescribed by a health professional. Verbs like **evitar** (to avoid), **substituir** (to replace), and **mastigar** (to chew) are common when discussing adjustments to your intake of calories and carbohydrates. 

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Reported speech: commands to imperfect subjunctive

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prefix

prep

preposition

pron

pronoun

sentence

verb

Demonstratives and the verb to be (isto é, o, a)

Subject pronouns and negation (eu, não)

Yes/no questions and question words (quem, o que)

Plural pronouns, articles, and verbs (somos, são, os, as)

Origin and possession (de, do, da)

Introductions (chamar-se)

Indefinite articles (um, uma, uns, umas)

The verb to be for locations (estar)

Contrasting the two verbs to be (ser vs. estar)

Preposition for locations (em, no, na)

Numbers 0 to 10 (zero, um, dois)

The verb to have (tenho, tem)

Regular -ar verbs (falar, trabalhar)

Regular -er verbs (comer, beber)

Regular -ir verbs (abrir, partir)

My, your, and our (o meu, a nossa)

His, hers, and theirs (dele, dela)

Adjective agreement and placement

Days of the week (segunda-feira)

Months of the year (janeiro)

Counting by tens to 100 (trinta, quarenta...)

Telling time (é uma, são...)

Asking about time (quando, a que horas)

The verb to go (ir)

Prepositions of direction (a, para)

Preposition a contractions (ao, à, aos, às)

Prepositions of place (ao lado de, em frente de...)

Demonstratives (este, esse, aquele)

Contractions with demonstratives (neste, desse, daquele)

Asking which and how many (qual, quanto)

Plurals ending in -ão (-ões, -ãos, -ães)

Plurals ending in consonants (-ns, -is, -es)

The verb to like (gostar de)

The verb to need (precisar de)

The verb to want (querer)

The verb can or may (poder)

Expressing obligation (ter de)

Adverbs of degree (muito, pouco)

Quantifiers (muito, pouco)

Comparatives (mais... do que, menos... do que)

Equality comparisons (tão... como)

The preposition com (comigo, contigo)

Coordinating conjunctions (e, mas, ou, porque)

The preposition por (pelo, pela)

Double negation (nunca, nada, ninguém)

Present continuous (estar a)

Near future (ir)

Past tense of regular -ar verbs

Past tense of regular -er and -ir verbs

Past tense of ser and ir (fui, foi)

Direct object pronouns (me, te, o, a, nos, os, as)

Pronoun placement with negatives and questions

Greetings and courtesy (bom dia, obrigado)

Physical states with ter (ter fome, ter frio)

Asking the way (à direita, sempre em frente)

Colours (vermelho, amarelo, cor-de-rosa)

Money and shopping (custar, a moeda)

Getting around (o motorista, a paragem de autocarro)

Weather and seasons (faz calor, o inverno)

Omitting the subject pronoun

Where things are: ficar (Onde fica...?)

Richer questions: que + noun and é que

Numbers above 100 (cento e vinte, mil)

First-person sound changes (durmo, prefiro)

Advice and ability: dever and saber

Asking why: porquê and porque

When one thing happens: quando-clauses

Here and there: aqui, aí, ali (cá e lá)

Formal and plural possessives: o seu, o vosso

Irregular presents: ver, vir, dar

Present irregulars

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se, nos)

Stem-changing reflexives

Attached object pronouns (-lo, -la, -los, -las)

Nasal attached pronouns (-no, -na, -nos, -nas)

Pronoun placement with adverbs

Past tense of fazer, dizer, and trazer

Past tense of ter, estar, poder, and saber

Past tense of querer and vir

Past tense of ver, dar, and ler

Past tense reflexive verbs (-se)

Time elapsed in the past (há)

Question	Answer
the nutritionist	o nutricionista
to order	mandar
The nutritionist ordered that I drink more water.	O nutricionista mandou que eu bebesse mais água.
to advise	aconselhar
the vegetable (culinary)	o legume
He advised that we eat more vegetables every day.	Ele aconselhou que nós comêssemos mais legumes todos os dias.
to avoid	evitar
the fat	a gordura
Did the nutritionist order that you avoid the fat from the meat?	O nutricionista mandou que evitasses a gordura da carne?
the calorie	a caloria
He also advised that we avoid empty calories.	Ele também aconselhou que evitássemos as calorias vazias.
to replace	substituir
the fiber	a fibra
The doctor ordered that I replace bread with more fiber.	O médico mandou que eu substituísse o pão por mais fibra.
I advised that he replace the sugar with fruit.	Eu aconselhei que ele substituísse o açúcar por fruta.
to chew	mastigar
Did he advise that you chew the vegetables slowly?	Ele aconselhou que mastigasses os legumes devagar?
The nutritionist ordered that they chew the food well!	O nutricionista mandou que eles mastigassem bem a comida!
the carbohydrate	o hidrato de carbono
He advised that we cut calories and carbohydrates.	Ele aconselhou que cortássemos as calorias e os hidratos de carbono.
It is necessary that you replace carbohydrates with fiber.	É preciso que vocês substituam os hidratos de carbono por fibra.
The nutritionist ordered that we avoid fat.	O nutricionista mandou que nós evitássemos a gordura.