Portuguese Phrase
Não deve nevar.
Meaning
Literally, ‘It should not snow.’ The sentence is used to state that snow is not expected, either because the forecast says so or because the speaker judges the weather conditions unlikely to produce snow.
When to use
Use this phrase when talking about weather predictions, when someone asks if it will snow, or when you want to express that snow is improbable in a given region or season.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Nãodevenevar
Negação com não
‘Não’ precedes the verb phrase to negate the whole statement.
Verbo modal dever (presente do indicativo)
‘Deve’ expresses probability, expectation or obligation; here it means ‘is expected to’ or ‘should’.
Verbo impessoal nevar
‘Nevar’ is an impersonal verb (no subject) that only appears in the third‑person singular.
🗨In Conversation
Vai nevar hoje?
Is it going to snow today?
Não deve nevar.
It shouldn't snow.
✕Common Mistakes
Não deve de nevar.
‘Deve’ already carries the modal meaning; adding ‘de’ is redundant and ungrammatical.
Não vai deve nevar.
Mixing two future constructions ‘vai’ and ‘deve’ creates confusion; choose one.
Não deve nevará.
Using the simple future ‘nevará’ changes the meaning to ‘it will snow’; to keep the sense of ‘should not’, keep the modal construction.
↔Alternatives
Não vai nevar.
It won't snow.
É improvável que neve.
It's unlikely that it will snow.
Não está previsto neve.
Snow is not forecasted.
Cultural Tip
Snow is a rarity in most of Brazil, occurring only in the southern states (Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná) during winter. Because of this, the phrase is often used humorously or metaphorically to describe any unlikely event, not just actual snowfall.