Personal Infinitive in Portuguese (Infinitivo Pessoal)

The Personal Infinitive (Infinitivo Pessoal) is unique to Portuguese and commonplace.  There’s no parallel in other languages and learners of Portuguese often struggle to wrap their heads around it.

We use the Portuguese Personal Infinitive in a few impersonal structures and subordinate clauses, namely concessive, final, and conditional clauses.

Another common and related question concerns the difference between Personal and Impersonal Infinitives (the Impersonal Infinitive is what people usually refer to when they say ‘Infinitive’).

In short, the Portuguese Personal Infinitive is a conjugated version of the Impersonal Infinitive. While the latter only represents the conceptual idea of the verb (dissociated from any tense, mood, or person), the former, through its conjugated verb forms, unveils the person to which the verb is referring.

Put another way, the Personal Infinitive makes it less abstract. Read on.

Conjugating the Personal Infinitive in Portuguese

It is easy to conjugate the Personal Infinitive. You take the “normal” Infinitive form – the Impersonal Infinitive – and a few conjugational endings, namely to the 2-person singular and all persons in the plural  (added endings marked in bold in the tables below). 

These endings are always the same regardless of the conjugation group (-ar, -er, -ir), or whether the verbs are regular or irregular.

Let’s look at 3 regular verbs, one for each conjugation group:

	Tomar	Vender	Decidir
Eu	tomar	vender	decidir
Tu	tomares	venderes	decidires
Ele, ela	tomar	vender	decidir
Nós	tomarmos	vendermos	decidirmos
Vocês Eles, Elas	tomarem	venderem	decidirem

Note! For regular verbs, the verb forms of the Personal Infinitive happen to be the same as the Future Subjunctive, but not concerning irregular verbs.

Learn more about the Portuguese Future Subjunctive: Portuguese Future Subjunctive (Futuro do Conjuntivo).

And here are 3 irregular verbs with the exact same conjugation pattern as above:

	Ser	Fazer	Ir
Eu	ser	fazer	ir
Tu	seres	fazeres	ires
Ele, ela	ser	fazer	ir
Nós	sermos	fazermos	irmos
Vocês Eles, Elas	serem	fazerem	irem

When to use the Personal Infinitive in Portuguese

For the most part, the Personal Infinitive in Portuguese is used in complex sentences and is normally placed inside the dependent clause right after a linking word or phrase. Below, I will guide you through several such structures with concrete examples. 

A couple of things before we start.

As we go through the examples, you will realize that we use the Personal Infinitive in structures where we often also use the Present Subjunctive*. 

In that sense, they are closely related and whether we use one or the other depends on the linking word or phrase. For instance, the Present Subjunctive is strongly associated with the linking word que.

* Learn more about the Present Subjunctive in Portuguese: Present Subjunctive in Portuguese: How and When to Use It.

Impersonal structures

We often use the Personal Infinitive in the following impersonal structure: 

 é + adjective + personal infinitive

Here are a couple of examples: 

É importante (tu) ficares em casa a descansar. You must stay at home and rest. É imprudente (nós) irmos à rua com este tempo. It is not reasonable that we go out in this weather.  É provável (eles) chegarem depois das 15h. They are likely to arrive after 3 p.m.

Note that we’d use the Present Subjunctive if we added que before the verb: 

É importante que (tu) fiques em casa a descansar. É imprudente que (nós) vamos à rua com este tempo. É provável que (eles) cheguem depois das 15h.

Concessive clauses 

We use the Personal Infinitive in concessive clauses* when they are introduced by the linking phrase apesar de:  

Tu nunca engordas apesar de (tu) comeres tanto. You never seem to get fat even if you eat so much. Nós vamos ao Japão apesar de (nós) termos medo de voar. We are traveling to Japan even though we are afraid of flying.

* Concessive clauses express an idea that is in opposition to the main clause. In English, concessive clauses are often introduced with the linking words or phrases although, even though, or despite the fact, among others. 

Note that we are likely to use the Present Subjunctive when we use other linking expressions such as mesmo que, embora or ainda que: 

Tu nunca engordas embora (tu) comas tanto. Nós vamos ao Japão ainda que (nós) tenhamos medo de voar.

Time clauses

We use the Personal Infinitive in time clauses*, especially when these are introduced by linking words or phrases such as até,  antes de, or depois de:

Não te dou outro livro até (tu) terminares de ler esse. I won’t give you a new book until you are done reading that one. Lava os dentes antes de (tu) ires para a cama. Brush your teeth before you go to bed. Ligue-me depois de (vocês) falarem com o Paulo. Call me after you talk with Paulo.

* In English, time clauses are often introduced by linking expressions such as before, as soon as, or until, among others. 

Note that we use the Present Subjunctive when we use other linking expressions such as logo que, até que or antes que:

Não te dou outro livro até que termines de ler esse. Lava os dentes antes que vás para a cama. Liguem-me logo que falem com o Paulo.

Conditional clauses

We use the Personal Infinite in conditional clauses*, especially when they are introduced by the linking word sem:

Não recebem prenda nenhuma sem se (vocês) portarem bem. You won’t get any presents if you don’t behave properly. Não saio daqui sem me (tu) pagares o que me deves. I won’t leave without you paying me back what you owe me.

* Conditional clauses express contingency. In English, conditional clauses are often introduced by if, in case, and unless, among others.

Note that we use the Present Subjunctive in the presence of the linking expressions such as sem que, desde que, or a não ser que, among others: 

Não recebem prenda nenhuma sem que se portem bem. Não saio daqui a não ser que me pagues o que me deves.

Completive clauses 

We often use the Personal Infinitive in completive clauses*:

Nós acreditamos (tu) estares a fazer o melhor que podes. We believe that you are doing all you can. Eu lamento vocês pensarem dessa forma! I am sorry that you think that way!

* Completive clauses are often the direct object of verbs such as think, believe, see, or ask. They complete the idea/action of the verb in the main clause. In English, completion clauses are often introduced by the linking word that.

Note that we use the Present tense (either in the Indicative or Subjunctive mood) when we use the linking word que before the verb:

Nós acreditamos que estás a fazer o melhor que podes. Lamento que pensem dessa forma.

Here are a few more examples of completive clauses where the Personal Infinitive follows the linking words de, para, and em:

Não tenho ideia de (nós) termos ido visitar o teu tio I had no recollection that we went there to visit your uncle. Eu pedi-te para (tu) fazeres pouco barulho. I asked you to be quiet. Pensei em irmos os dois ao Brasil. I thought that we could both go to Brazil.

Causal clauses

We use the Personal Infinite in causal clauses*, especially those introduced by linking expressions such as por, dado, and visto:

Ficas em casa por (tu) te teres portado mal! You stay home because of your misbehavior. As crianças não foram para a escola  dado (elas) estarem doentes. The kids didn’t go to school since they were sick. Eu tenho medo de sair à rua visto existirem tantos roubos. I am afraid to go out on the streets since there are so many robberies.

* Causal clauses offer a cause for what’s stated in the main clause. In English, causal clauses are often introduced by linking expressions such as because, since, as, inasmuch, among others.

Note that we use the Present or Past Simple in the presence of the linking words porque or pois:

Ficas em casa porque te portaste mal! As crianças não foram para a escola  porque estão doentes. Eu tenho medo de sair à rua pois existem tantos roubos!

Final clauses

There’s nothing more suitable than ‘Final’ clauses to conclude this usage rundown!

We use the Personal Infinite in final clauses*, especially those introduced by linking expressions such as para and a fim de:

Tens de descansar mais a fim de (tu) recuperares. You’ve got to rest more for you to recover. Está aqui o texto para (tu) reveres. Here, you have the text for proofreading.

* Final clauses express intention or purpose.  In English, final clauses are often introduced by linking words such as to, in order to, or so that.

Note that we use the Present Subjunctive if we add the word que to the  linking expressions para and a fim de: 

Tens de descansar mais a fim de que recuperes. Está aqui o texto para que revejas.