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Sincronizem lá a dança quando ouvirem a batida.

Sincronizem lá a dança quando ouvirem a batida.
Just synchronize the dance when you hear the beat.
From Lesson 499:Softening commands (lá)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Sincronizem lá a dança quando ouvirem a batida.

What exactly is the word lá doing here, and why is it translated as "just"?
In this sentence, lá acts as a pragmatic mitigator. It softens the direct command Sincronizem, making it sound more casual, encouraging, or less demanding. In English, we often create this exact same softer tone by adding words like "just" or "go ahead and" before a command.
Can I place lá before the verb instead?
No, when lá is used to soften a command like this, it almost always comes immediately after the imperative verb. It behaves differently than an object pronoun and doesn't jump to the front of the verb.
Why is ouvirem used here instead of the present tense ouvem?
The conjunction quando triggers the future subjunctive because it refers to an action that hasn't happened yet (hearing the beat). While English simply uses the present tense ("when you hear"), Portuguese requires the future subjunctive ouvirem to show that this is an unfulfilled future condition.
How do we know who is being addressed in this sentence?
The speaker is addressing a group of people, equivalent to the plural "you" (vocês). We can see this because both verbs agree with this subject: Sincronizem is the third-person plural imperative, and ouvirem is the third-person plural future subjunctive.

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