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Portuguese (Portugal)

Artisan cheese making requires precise timing. To explain what happens before or after a specific step, we use the prepositions **antes de** (before) and **depois de** (after).

Unlike English, which usually follows "before" or "after" with a standard conjugated verb (e.g., "before *we add*"), Portuguese uses a unique grammatical feature: the **Personal Infinitive** (*Infinitivo Pessoal*).

### The Personal Infinitive

The personal infinitive is simply the infinitive of the verb, but with endings attached to show exactly who is performing the action. For regular verbs, you add these endings directly to the full, base infinitive:

| Pronoun | Ending | Example (*juntar*) |
|---|---|---|
| eu / você / ele / ela | (no ending) | juntar |
| tu | -es | juntares |
| nós | -mos | juntarmos |
| vocês / eles / elas | -em | juntarem |

*(Notice that the first-person singular and third-person singular share the plain, uninflected infinitive form.)*

### Sequencing Actions

Whenever you use **antes de** or **depois de** and need to specify *who* is doing the action—especially if the subject changes between the two parts of the sentence—you use this personal infinitive.

For example, when the subject is **nós** (we), we add **-mos** to the infinitive:

{{item:1039954}}

{{item:1039967}}

When the subject is **eles**, **elas**, or a plural noun (like the ingredients or the bacteria), we add **-em** to the infinitive:

{{item:1039959}}

{{item:1039970}}

And when giving instructions directly to **tu**, add **-es**:

{{item:1039964}}

Temporal sequencing (antes de fazermos)

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 rennet	o coalho
the thermometer	o termómetro
Before we add the rennet, we need to check the temperature with the thermometer.	Antes de juntarmos o coalho, precisamos de verificar a temperatura com o termómetro.
to ferment	fermentar
Use the thermometer before they ferment the milk.	Usa o termómetro antes de eles fermentarem o leite.
to solidify	solidificar
the curd	a coalhada
After the ingredients solidify, we cut the curd as quickly as possible.	Depois de os ingredientes solidificarem, nós cortamos a coalhada o mais rápido possível.
to squeeze	espremer
the whey	o soro
the bacterium	a bactéria
Do you squeeze the whey before the bacteria ferment the curd? — We squeeze.	Vocês espremem o soro antes de as bactérias fermentarem a coalhada? — Esprememos.
Before you squeeze the curd, separate the whey.	Antes de tu espremeres a coalhada, separa o soro.
to press	prensar
the curing	a cura
After we press the cheese, the curing must be perfect.	Depois de nós prensarmos o queijo, a cura tem de ser perfeita.
If we made the cheese without the rennet, it wouldn't taste like anything.	Se nós fizéssemos o queijo sem o coalho, não sabia a nada.
They start the curing after the cheeses taste like salt.	Eles começam a cura depois de os queijos saberem a sal.
Press the molds before the bacteria grow!	Prensa os moldes antes de as bactérias crescerem!
After we solidify the cheese, it smells like milk again.	Depois de nós solidificarmos o queijo, cheira a leite outra vez.