Breakdown of Eu não posso impor as regras sem os pais concordarem.
eu
I
não
not / no
poder
can / may (verb)
sem
without
a regra
the rule
concordar
to agree
os pais
the parents
impor
to impose
Questions & Answers about Eu não posso impor as regras sem os pais concordarem.
Why do we use the personal infinitive concordarem here instead of the regular infinitive concordar?
Because the subject changes between the two halves of the sentence. The subject of the first verb is eu (I), but the subject of the second action is os pais (the parents). When a preposition like sem connects two actions with different subjects, Portuguese uses the personal infinitive to show exactly who is doing the second action. Here, the verb concordar takes the third-person plural ending -em to match os pais.
Could I use the subjunctive and say sem que os pais concordem instead?
Yes, you can! The phrase sem que followed by the subjunctive (concordem) means the exact same thing as sem followed by the personal infinitive (concordarem). The personal infinitive structure is often preferred in everyday spoken Portuguese because it is slightly shorter, but both are completely correct and interchangeable here.
The English translation uses the -ing form (without the parents agreeing). Why isn't this translated using the gerund (concordando)?
In Portuguese, prepositions like sem, antes de, or apesar de are always followed by the infinitive or personal infinitive, never the gerund. While English naturally puts verbs in the -ing form after prepositions (without agreeing, before leaving), Portuguese always requires the infinitive in these setups.
Could I change the word order and put the subject after the verb, like sem concordarem os pais?
Yes, absolutely. In clauses using the personal infinitive, it is very common to invert the subject and place it after the verb. Saying sem concordarem os pais sounds perfectly natural, though keeping the standard subject-verb order as seen in this sentence is just as good.
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