Caso estejas no casino, não fales alto!

Questions & Answers about Caso estejas no casino, não fales alto!

Why do we use the adjective alto instead of an adverb like altamente for "loudly"?
In Portuguese, certain adjectives are commonly used as invariable adverbs to describe how an action is done. With verbs related to sound or voice, like falar, it is the standard and most natural choice to use alto (loudly) and baixo (quietly) rather than adverbs ending in -mente.
If I were telling a group of women not to speak loudly, would alto change to altas?
No, it wouldn't change. When an adjective functions as an adverb, it becomes invariable. It will always stay locked in the masculine singular form regardless of the gender or number of the subject. You would simply say não falem alto.
Why is the verb estar in the subjunctive mood (estejas) instead of the indicative (estás)?
The conjunction caso (in case) introduces a hypothetical situation, so it strictly requires the subjunctive mood. Whenever you use caso to set up a condition, the following verb must be in the subjunctive.
Why is the negative command translated as não fales rather than não fala?
To form a negative command for the informal "you" (tu), Portuguese switches to the present subjunctive form, which is não fales. The form fala is only used for affirmative commands; you can never pair it with não.

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