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Não conheço a cidade aonde esta autoestrada te leva!

Não conheço a cidade aonde esta autoestrada te leva!
I do not know the city where this motorway takes you!
From Lesson 191:Relative pronouns of motion (aonde)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Não conheço a cidade aonde esta autoestrada te leva!

Why do we use aonde instead of onde in this sentence?
Aonde specifically means "to where," as it combines the preposition a (to) and onde (where). We use it here because the verb levar (to take) involves motion towards a destination. The motorway is taking you to the city.
What if the sentence was "I don't know the city where this motorway is"? Would we still use aonde?
No, in that case you would use onde (where) and say: Não conheço a cidade onde esta autoestrada está! Because the verb estar (to be) describes a static location rather than movement towards a place, the "to" (the a in aonde) is no longer needed.
Why is the pronoun te placed before leva instead of after it?
In Portuguese, certain words act like magnets and pull object pronouns (like te) to the front of the verb. Relative pronouns, such as aonde, are "magnet" words. Because of this, the pronoun moves before the verb, making it ...aonde esta autoestrada te leva rather than ...aonde esta autoestrada leva-te.
Could I use Não sei instead of Não conheço to translate "I don't know"?
No, because the two verbs have different uses. Conhecer is used for being familiar with a noun—a person, a place (like a cidade), or a thing. Saber is used for knowing facts, information, or knowing how to do something.

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