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Ela penteia-se antes de sair.

Ela penteia-se antes de sair.
She combs her hair before going out.
From Lesson 157:A casa de banho (o duche, a escova de dentes)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of Ela penteia-se antes de sair.

ela
she
sair
to go out
antes de
before
pentear-se
to comb one's hair

Questions & Answers about Ela penteia-se antes de sair.

Why does the sentence use penteia-se ("combs herself") instead of translating "her hair"?
In Portuguese, everyday personal grooming actions—like combing hair, washing, or getting dressed—usually use reflexive verbs. Instead of using a possessive word like "her hair," you use the reflexive pronoun -se to literally say "She combs herself."
Why is the -se attached to the end of the verb with a hyphen?
In European Portuguese, the default rule for a basic, positive sentence is to attach the small pronoun (like -se) to the end of the verb with a hyphen. However, if this sentence were negative, a word like não would pull the pronoun to the front: Ela não se penteia.
Why is sair (to go out) in the infinitive (dictionary) form rather than conjugated?
In Portuguese, when a verb directly follows a preposition like de (which is part of the phrase antes de, meaning "before"), it stays in its infinitive form. It acts similarly to the "-ing" form in English here: "before going out."
Could I just say antes sair without the de?
No, the phrase for "before doing something" is always antes de. You must include de to connect antes to the next verb. If you drop the de, antes just acts as a standalone word meaning "earlier" or "beforehand."

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