Breakdown of Vira à direita depois da ponte.
à
at the (fem. sg.) / to the (fem. sg.)
a ponte
the bridge
depois de
after
a direita
the right (side)
virar
to turn
Questions & Answers about Vira à direita depois da ponte.
Why does the sentence use vira instead of viras or vire?
This is a command giving someone directions (the imperative mood). When giving an informal command to tu (informal "you"), you drop the "s" from the normal present tense form (tu viras becomes vira). If you were speaking formally to você, you would use vire.
Why does the word à have an accent mark pointing backwards?
This accent shows that two words have merged into one. It is a contraction of the preposition a (to) and the feminine word for "the", which is also a. They combine to make à. We use the feminine article here because the word for "right" (direita) is feminine.
Why is it depois da ponte instead of just depois de ponte?
The phrase for "after" is depois de. Because we are saying "after the bridge" rather than just "after bridge", we need the feminine word for "the" (a). The preposition de and the article a combine to form da.
If direita means "right", how would I tell someone to go "straight ahead"?
This is a very common mix-up! To say "go straight" or "straight ahead", you don't use a word that sounds like "direct" or "direita". Instead, you say em frente (literally "in front") or sempre em frente.
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