Negative imperative & giving commands, making requests

Telling someone not to do something takes a little finesse in Brazil! A blunt Não faça isso! can feel cold, while a softened Melhor não fazer isso keeps things friendly. From parenting (Não mexa nisso!) to a request for punctuality at work (Procure não chegar atrasado), knowing how to say "don't" kindly keeps the peace. A por favor or a question can make a request less direct; the best tone depends on context and your relationship with the listener.

Forming the negative command

For standard você commands, put não before the affirmative form: fale → não fale. These examples focus on você. The standard tu form is different; both use the present subjunctive.

With standard tu agreement, Fala! becomes Não fales!; with você, use Não fale!. In Brazilian speech, usage varies by region and speaker, including forms such as não fala.

Parent to child

• "Não mexa no fogão!" (Don't touch the stove!)

• "Não saia sem avisar!" (Don't leave without telling me!)

• "Não fale com a boca cheia!" (Don't talk with your mouth full!)

• "Não corra dentro de casa!" (Don't run inside the house!)

Polite requests

• "Por favor, não faça barulho depois das 22h." (Please don't make noise after 10pm.)

• "Você pode não fumar perto da entrada?" (Can you not smoke near the entrance?)

• "Dá para não estacionar na frente da garagem?" (Any way not to park in front of the garage?)

At work

Emergencies skip the softening

When it's urgent, go straight and direct:

• Não pule! (Don't jump!)

• Não toque, está quente! (Don't touch, it's hot!)

• Não entre, perigo! (Don't enter, danger!)

Variation in Brazilian speech

Brazilian speakers also use forms associated with the indicative in negative commands. Their use varies by region and speaker, including with você:

• Não faz isso! for Não faça isso!

• Não vai lá! for Não vá lá!
  These are established spoken variants; they do not follow the standard negative-command paradigm given above.

Caetano Veloso made a prohibition into a protest slogan: his 1968 song É Proibido Proibir — "It’s Forbidden to Forbid" — drew on the French student movement’s slogan. He performed it at the Festival Internacional da Canção, where the performance became a landmark of Tropicália amid the military dictatorship. The title is a declarative prohibition, formed with é proibido + infinitive.

Source: EBC — Tropicália