Breakdown of Faço as malas antes da viagem.
a viagem
the trip
antes de
before
fazer as malas
to pack (one's bags)
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Questions & Answers about Faço as malas antes da viagem.
Why does this sentence use faço if that usually means 'to do' or 'to make'?
Why is it da instead of just de after antes?
The phrase for 'before' is antes de. Because we are saying 'before the trip', we need the word 'the', which is a for a feminine noun. The preposition de and the article a always squeeze together to form the contraction da.
How do I know viagem is a feminine word? It does not end in 'a'.
While many feminine words end in 'a', almost all Portuguese words ending in -agem are feminine. That is why it pairs with the feminine contraction da rather than the masculine do.
Why is there no word for 'I' at the beginning of the sentence?
Portuguese regularly drops subject pronouns like eu (I) because the verb itself tells you who is doing the action. Since faço only ever means 'I do' or 'I make', adding eu is not necessary unless you want to add extra emphasis.