Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Nunca lhe atires nada!

Nunca lhe atires nada!

Never throw anything at him!

Breakdown of Nunca lhe atires nada!

to him / to her / to you (formal)

atirar

to throw

Questions & Answers about Nunca lhe atires nada!

Why does the verb end in "-es" (atires) instead of "-as" (atiras)?

Because this is a negative command! To tell someone NOT to do something in Portuguese, you use a special verb form (the present subjunctive). For the informal tu (you), regular "-ar" verbs like atirar (to throw) change their ending to "-es" in negative commands.

There is no não here. Does nunca trigger the negative command form too?

Exactly! Words like nunca (never) act just like não (not/no). Because the sentence starts with a negative word, it functions as a negative command, so you must use the negative imperative form atires.

Why is the pronoun lhe placed before the verb instead of after it?

Negative words like nunca act like magnets, pulling the pronoun to stand right before the verb. If this were a positive command (Throw it at him!), the pronoun would attach to the end of the verb with a hyphen: atira-lhe.

Why does the sentence use nada (nothing) instead of a word for "anything"? Doesn't that mean "never throw nothing"?

Portuguese uses double negatives to express this idea! When a sentence starts with a negative word like nunca or não, you must use another negative word like nada after the verb. In Portuguese, this emphasizes the negative rather than canceling it out.