Breakdown of A cláusula protege o assinante, salvo se ele mentir.
ele
he
proteger
to protect
mentir
to lie (tell untruths)
o assinante
the subscriber
Questions & Answers about A cláusula protege o assinante, salvo se ele mentir.
Why is the verb mentir in the infinitive here instead of the subjunctive?
It is actually in the subjunctive! Specifically, it is the future subjunctive. When salvo se refers to a hypothetical future condition, it triggers the future subjunctive, just like the standalone word se. Because mentir is a regular -ir verb, its future subjunctive form for ele happens to be identical to the infinitive: mentir.
If I wanted to use a não ser que instead of salvo se, how would the sentence change?
You would have to change the verb tense. Conjunction phrases ending in que, like a não ser que or a menos que, generally require the present subjunctive. The sentence would become: A cláusula protege o assinante, a não ser que ele minta. Because salvo se ends in se, it behaves differently and takes the future subjunctive for hypothetical future events.
Are salvo se and exceto se interchangeable in this sentence?
Does assinante mean a subscriber or a signer?
It can mean both! It comes from the verb assinar, which translates to to sign (a document) as well as to subscribe (to a service, channel, or policy). In a contractual context like this, it usually refers to the subscriber or the bound signing party.