Breakdown of Não seguimos placas quando arrancamos de carro.
o carro
the car
não
not / no
de
of / from / by (means of transport) / wearing (attire)
quando
when
seguir
to follow / to carry on
arrancar
to set off
a placa
the sign
Questions & Answers about Não seguimos placas quando arrancamos de carro.
Why does this sentence use arrancamos for 'we set off'?
The verb arrancar literally means to uproot, pull out, or tear away. However, in the context of driving or transportation, it is the most common, idiomatic way to say that a vehicle is starting to move, pulling away, or setting off.
Could seguimos be in the past tense here?
The word seguimos is identical in both the present tense (we follow) and the simple past (we followed), so it technically could be. You have to rely on context to tell them apart. Since this sentence describes a general habit of setting off, it translates as the present tense.
Why do we use de in de carro instead of translating 'by' literally?
To express the means of transportation you are using, European Portuguese almost always uses the preposition de. You will see this standard pattern in phrases like de carro (by car), de comboio (by train), and de avião (by plane).
Why is there no article before placas?
Leaving out the article emphasizes the general concept of 'signs' in a broad sense. If you added the definite article and said Não seguimos as placas, it would mean 'We do not follow the signs', which implies a specific set of signs you were supposed to follow on a particular route.
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