How do I say without doing in Portuguese?

Use sem plus an infinitive in patterns such as sem avisar, without letting someone know, and sem olhar, without looking.

Should I use a gerund after sem?

For the without-doing pattern taught here, use the infinitive: sem olhar rather than sem olhando.

Does sem negate the main action?

Not automatically. In saiu sem avisar, the person left; notifying someone is the action that did not accompany leaving.

Sem + Infinitive in Portuguese: Say “Without Doing”

Use a noun for a missing item, an infinitive for a missing action

Caldas Aulete’s sem entry records absence and the use of sem followed by an infinitive to describe how something happens. The reference was checked on October 21, 2026.

Quero café sem açúcar. — “I want coffee without sugar.”
Ele saiu sem dizer nada. — “He left without saying anything.”
Ela respondeu sem olhar as anotações. — “She answered without looking at the notes.”

Açúcar names an item; dizer and olhar name actions. English often uses an -ing form after without, but Portuguese uses the infinitive in these patterns. Use sem olhar, not sem olhando, when you mean without looking.

The main action still happens in the last two examples: he leaves and she answers. Sem identifies what does not happen alongside it. It does not negate every action in the sentence. Read both verbs before deciding what the person did.

Know which action actually happened

Li a mensagem sem responder. — “I read the message without replying.”
Não li a mensagem. — “I didn’t read the message.”
Respondi sem ler a mensagem inteira. — “I replied without reading the whole message.”

The first confirms reading and excludes a reply in that situation. The second denies reading. The third confirms a reply but says the whole message was not read. These are different updates, even though all contain some form of not doing something.

Place sem next to the action you intend to exclude. When reporting another person’s message, do not change li sem responder into não li. That would turn an unanswered message into an unread message and could change what someone thinks happened.

Sem can set a condition for doing something

Não vou sair sem confirmar o endereço. — “I won’t leave without confirming the address.”
Não consigo escrever sem consultar minhas anotações. — “I can’t write without consulting my notes.”
Podemos conversar sem gravar? — “Can we talk without recording?”

In the first, confirmation is needed before the speaker will leave. The negative belongs to vou sair; sem confirmar states the missing action that would prevent leaving. The third asks for a conversation with no recording. It does not request silence or forbid speaking.

For a real conversation, make the boundary clear and check agreement. For studying, describe what you actually do, rather than treating without notes as a universal measure of skill. Some tasks call for notes; others are useful for practising recall.

Original dialogue: choose a clear practice condition

A: Vamos ler o diálogo em voz alta?
Shall we read the dialogue aloud?

B: Vamos. Depois podemos tentar sem olhar o texto?
Yes. Afterwards, can we try without looking at the text?

A: Podemos. Se faltar uma palavra, a gente consulta de novo.
Yes. If we’re missing a word, we’ll check again.

B: Ótimo. Quero praticar sem decorar cada frase.
Great. I want to practise without memorizing every sentence.

The speakers first use the text and then try a recall activity. Sem olhar changes one condition, not the entire purpose of the exercise. The final line rejects memorizing every sentence as the method for this activity; it does not mean vocabulary never involves memory.

When you need to state a different person’s action, the grammar may require an explicit subject or a different clause. See the personal infinitive for forms such as vocês fazerem. Start here with clear same-subject examples before extending the pattern.

Practice: what happened and what was absent?

Translate li a mensagem sem responder.
Choose sem olhar or sem olhando for without looking.
Does ele saiu sem dizer nada mean he did not leave?
Ask whether you can talk without recording.
Explain não vou sair sem confirmar o endereço.

Continue with real conversation practice

Use the guide to putting sentence patterns into speech for a longer practice routine. These dialogues and exercises are original written examples. Choose one pattern, change a detail and ask a follow-up that fits your own situation.

Continue with Real Life Portuguese for native Brazilian audio and everyday expressions. Choose a short exchange available in the app. Listen for the speaker’s intention, then use a pattern from this activity to prepare a reply that fits your own situation. Bruno Lopes is a co-founder of the app.