Learn Portuguese (Portugal): O gestor pede o pré-aviso, exceto se houver uma emergência. - The manager asks for the advance notice, unless there is an emergency.

O gestor pede o pré-aviso, exceto se houver uma emergência.

The manager asks for the advance notice, unless there is an emergency.

Breakdown of O gestor pede o pré-aviso, exceto se houver uma emergência.

a / an / some (all forms)

haver

to be (there is / there are)

Questions & Answers about O gestor pede o pré-aviso, exceto se houver uma emergência.

Why is there a hyphen in pré-aviso?

The prefix pré- indicates time (before or in advance). In Portuguese, stressed prefixes like pré-, pós-, and pró- always require a hyphen when attached to a base word. Since aviso means a notice or warning, pré-aviso literally translates to an advance notice.

In English we say the manager asks "for" the notice, but there is no preposition like por after pede. Why?

The verb pedir (to ask for, to request) connects directly to its object without a preposition. Therefore, "asks for the advance notice" is simply pede o pré-aviso, never pede pelo pré-aviso.

Why is the verb haver conjugated as houver in this sentence?

Houver is the future subjunctive form of haver (used here to mean "there to be"). The word se (if) triggers the future subjunctive in this clause because it introduces a hypothetical condition that might happen in the future: "except if there is an emergency".

Could I use a menos que instead of exceto se to mean "unless"?