Deves renovar os livros quando o prazo termina.
You should renew the books when the deadline expires.
Breakdown of Deves renovar os livros quando o prazo termina.
o livro
the book
quando
when
terminar
to finish
dever
should / ought to
o prazo
the deadline
renovar
to renew
Questions & Answers about Deves renovar os livros quando o prazo termina.
If I wanted to say 'You should renew them for him', how would I use the new lhos pronoun here?
You would combine the indirect object lhe (to/for him) and the direct object os (them, replacing os livros) into lhos. The phrase becomes Deves renovar-lhos. Notice that the pronoun attaches to the infinitive verb renovar with a hyphen.
Why is it Deves renovar and not Deves de renovar?
The verb dever (should / must) connects directly to the next verb without any prepositions. This is a common mix-up because another common verb for obligation, ter, requires the preposition de (as in tens de renovar).
Can prazo translate to anything other than 'deadline'?
Yes, prazo generally refers to a set time period, term, or timeframe. While it means 'deadline' or 'due date' in this context, you will also see it in phrases like a longo prazo (in the long term / long-term).
Why does the sentence use the present tense termina after quando?
The present tense is used here because this is a general rule or fact: whenever the deadline expires, you should renew. If you were talking about a specific one-time event in the future (like 'when the deadline expires next week'), Portuguese would require a different tense called the future subjunctive.
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