Breakdown of Deves relaxar, desde que faças a massagem hoje.
hoje
today
fazer
to do
o
him/it (m)
dever
should / ought to
desde que
provided that
relaxar
to relax
a massagem
the massage
Questions & Answers about Deves relaxar, desde que faças a massagem hoje.
Why is the verb fazer in the subjunctive form faças instead of the indicative fazes?
The phrase desde que means as long as or provided that. It sets up a condition that has not happened yet but needs to happen for the first part of the sentence to apply. In Portuguese, conditional conjunctions like this always force the following verb into the subjunctive mood.
Can desde que also mean since? How do I know when to use the subjunctive?
Yes, it can mean both! When used to talk about time, such as since last year, it is followed by the normal indicative mood. But when it is used as a condition meaning provided that or as long as, it always requires the subjunctive, which is why we must use faças here.
Why does the translation say you do the massage instead of you get a massage?
In English, we usually talk about getting or having a massage. In Portuguese, the verb fazer is the standard verb used for receiving many personal care treatments or medical services. You will often hear phrases like fazer a massagem to mean getting a massage or fazer análises to mean getting bloodwork done.
The translation says you must relax. Doesn't deves normally mean you should?
The present tense of dever can mean must, have to, or should depending on context. Using the present tense deves often creates a strong obligation. If you want to make it sound more like a gentle recommendation such as you should, it is very common to use the conditional tense instead, which would be deverias.
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