C1 · Can, want, must · about 4 minutes
Rules and signs
« No smoking » is a gerund; here the sign takes an infinitive.
Do you know this already?
“New to me”: the explanation first, then practice. “Test myself”: 3 short questions – get at least two right and you go straight to the harder exercises.
Words you will need13
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- o capacetethe helmet
- os assistentes de recintothe stewards
- a entradathe entrance, the admission
- estranhostrange
- o serviçothe work in hand
- o cintothe belt
- obrigatóriocompulsory
- atrásbehind, at the back
- o parque de estacionamentothe car park
- a proibiçãothe ban
- sob prescriçãoon prescription
- a multathe fine
- o colete refletorthe high-visibility vest
Practise as flashcards · 1Practise as flashcards · 2
Missing a word? Look it up in the dictionary
Understand
RememberA sign addresses nobody: infinitive, passive or é proibido.
- Signal words
- proibido
- proibição de
- obrigatório
- permitido
- tolerado
- não
The form
The forms and what they mean
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Portuguese.
| it is forbidden | é proibido |
| ban (on a sign) | proibição de |
| compulsory | obrigatório |
| recommended | recomendado |
| permitted | permitido |
| tolerated | tolerado |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
A sign takes the infinitive, not the imperative.
Não incomodar.Do not disturb.
proibição de plus a noun is the ban in two words.
Proibição de afixar cartazes.Stick no bills.
The passive names nobody and therefore sounds official.
O uso de capacete é exigido em toda a obra.Helmets are required on the whole site.
tolerado is permission with a reservation.
Os cães são tolerados na esplanada.Dogs are tolerated on the terrace.
Example sentences
É proibido fumar no recinto.Smoking is forbidden on the premises.
Entrada interdita a pessoas estranhas ao serviço.No entry except on business.
O cinto é obrigatório também atrás.Seat belts are compulsory in the back as well.
1 more example sentences
Estacionamento tolerado ao domingo.Parking tolerated on Sundays.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Write a rule with têm de and you are addressing somebody — you sound like a supervisor rather than a text. A sign says you to nobody. It says what holds, and leaves open for whom.
Quick check
A warm-up: 2 questions, answered straight away. They do not count towards your progress.
Practise
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Now write it yourself4 sentences on this topic, typed and checked instantly.
Your progress
What your lesson on this topic shows:
The lesson decides this, not a button: passed at 80% on the first try, mastered when you pass it again on another day.
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The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
A rule rarely uses dever. It uses forms that address nobody: the infinitive as a command (Não encostar), the impersonal é proibido, the passive (o acesso é reservado).
English signs address nobody either, and reach for the gerund to do it: « No smoking », « No parking », « No entry ». Portuguese reaches for the infinitive in the same position — Não fumar, Não estacionar, Não encostar — so the instinct is right and only the form has to be swapped. Where English writes a plain noun phrase, Portuguese usually writes a small sentence: É proibido fumar.
Proibido and interdito both mean forbidden; proibidois the ordinary wordinterditosounds more official Proibição de is the ban as a noun.
Permission says permitido or tolerado — and tolerado means: not really, but nobody will stop you. Obrigatórioallows no delayrecomendadois a recommendation