Portuguese Conjunctions – All You Need to Know

Without conjunctions, we would sound rather clumsy and inarticulate: I like apples. I like pears. I don’t like bananas. No one speaks like that. 

In avoiding the choppiness of several short sentences, conjunctions (aka linking words) allow us to express multiple ideas in elegant ways by sewing words, phrases, or clauses together. 

A few examples of Portuguese conjunctions are e, ou, mas, porque, quando, and se, among many others. Here’s a sentence containing some of these words:

Eu gosto de arroz e batatas, mas a Joana não aprecia nem um nem outro. I like rice and potatoes, but Joana prefers neither one nor the other.

In what follows, I will walk you through different categories of Portuguese conjunctions. I will keep Portuguese and English conjunctions side by side so that you can easily follow along.

Notice! Conjunctions are invariable words. This means that their morphology remains the same regardless of things like gender or number. Learn more about how gender and number affect other word classes like adjectives or determiners:
• Disentangling Gender with Portuguese Masculine-to-Feminine Spelling Patterns
• Forming the Plural in Portuguese: Singular-to-Plural Conversion Patterns to Keep an Eye On

Coordinating conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions link words, phrases, and clauses of identical grammatical rank in a sentence. Here’s an example of the latter:

Eu pinto uma paisagem e ela toca guitarra. I paint a landscape and she plays guitar.

Notice that the clauses above are independent of each other and can therefore stand alone:

Eu pinto uma paisagem. Ela toca guitarra. I paint a landscape. She plays guitar.

There are different kinds of coordinating conjunctions. Let’s take a closer look at them.

Copulative

Copulative conjunctions add up words, phrases, or independent clauses. 

Conjunction	Usage example
e and	A Cristina é alta e morena. Cristina is tall and brunette.
bem como, assim como as well as	O Pedro assim como o Miguel gostam de matemática. Pedro as well as Miguel likes math.
tanto . . . como, quer . . . quer both . . . and	Tanto eu como a Daniela somos músicos. Both Daniela and I are musicians.
não só . . .  mas também not only . . . but also	Gosto não só do Brasil mas também de todos os outros países da América Latina. I like not only Brazil but also all the other countries in Latin America.
nem . . . nem neither . . . nor	Eu não tenho nem tempo nem paciência para isto. I have neither time nor patience for this.

Adversative

Adversative conjunctions express a contrast between two ideas or statements.

Conjunction	Usage example
mas but, though	Gosto de viajar, mas raramente o faço. I like to travel, but I do it seldom.
porém, todavia, contudo however, yet, nevertheless	O Mário esteve em Lisboa, contudo não me visitou. Mário was in Lisbon, yet he didn’t come to see me.
enquanto que whereas	Tu gostas de jazz enquanto que eu prefiro música clássica. You like jazz whereas I prefer classical music.

Disjunctive

Disjunctive conjunctions denote mutually exclusive possibilities.

Conjunction	Usage example
ou or	Vens ou ficas? Are you coming or staying?
ou . . . ou either . . . or	Ou estudas ou trabalhas. Decide-te! Either you study or you work. Just make up your mind!
quer . . . quer não whether . . . or not	Quer aceites quer não, ele não  vai mudar de ideias. Whether you accept it or not, he won’t change his mind.

Conclusive 

Conclusive conjunctions introduce a consequence or conclusion to the previously expressed idea.

Conjunction	Usage example
portanto, logo, por isso therefore, thus, so	Eu gosto de música ao vivo, por isso vou a concertos com frequência. I like live music, so I often go to concerts.

Subordinating conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions link dependent clauses to independent clauses – a dependent clause, unlike an independent clause, can’t stand alone as its own sentence.

There are different types of subordinating conjunctions. Let’s take a peek at them.

Oftentimes, these conjunctions are followed by the subjunctive or personal infinitive. Learn more about it:
• Present Subjunctive in Portuguese: How and When to Use It
• Portuguese Personal Infinitive: What Is It and When to Use It

Causal

Causal conjunctions introduce the cause leading to what is expressed by the main clause.

Conjunction	Usage example
porque, pois because	Cheguei atrasado porque apanhei trânsito na estrada. I came late because I got stuck in a traffic jam.
visto que, uma vez que since	Visto que fazes anos, vamos sair para festejar. Since it’s your birthday, let’s go out to celebrate.
como as	Como estava com fome, decidi almoçar mais cedo.  As I was feeling hungry, I decided to eat lunch earlier.

Concessive

Concessive conjunctions introduce an idea that is in opposition to what is expressed in the main clause.

Conjunction	Usage example
embora although	Gosto muito de Lisboa, embora lá vá raramente. I like Lisbon a lot, although I go there rarely.
apesar de despite, in spite of	Perdoo-te apesar do que me fizeste. I forgive you despite what you’ve done to me.
ainda que, mesmo que even if, even though	Ainda que tentes, não vais conseguir.  Even if you try, you are not going to make it.
por mais que as much as	Não me consegues ganhar por mais que queiras. You can’t beat me as much as you’d like.
nem que not even if	Não comia isto nem que me pagassem. I would not eat this even if someone would pay me.

Conditional

Conditional conjunctions introduce a condition that the main clause depends on. 

Conjunction	Usage example
se, caso if	Avisa-me se vieres cá. Let me know if you come here.
desde que provided that	Podes dormir no meu quarto desde que não ressones. You can sleep in my room provided that you don’t snore.
a menos que, exceto se, salvo se, a não ser que unless	Ela vem viver connosco a não ser que mude de ideias.  She’s coming to live with us unless she changes her mind.
enquanto until	Não falo contigo enquanto não me pedires desculpas. I am not talking to you until you apologize.

Final

Final conjunctions introduce the purpose of what’s expressed in the main clause. 

Conjunction	Usage example
para, a fim de to, in order to	Vou dar uma volta para espairecer. I will go for a stroll to unwind.
para que so that	Põe os óculos para que possas ler as legendas. Put on your glasses so that you can read the subtitles.

Temporal

Temporal conjunctions provide the main clause with a time reference.

Conjunction	Usage example
quando when	Quando dei por ela, já era tarde. When I saw it, it was already too late.
antes que before	Cala-te antes que eu perca a paciência. Be quiet, before I lose my temper.
depois de after	Lava os dentes depois do jantar. Brush your teeth after dinner.
logo que, assim que, mal as soon as	Avisa-me logo que chegues. Let me know as soon as you arrive.
sempre que whenever	Ajudo-te sempre que precises. I’ll help you whenever you need it.
desde que since	Sinto-me outro desde que vim para Portugal.  I feel like a new person since I came to Portugal.
enquanto while	Fui ao supermercado enquanto as crianças não estavam em casa. I went to the supermarket while the children were not at home.

Comparative

Comparative conjunctions imply and articulate a comparison.

Conjunction	Usage example
como like	Ele comporta-se como uma criança. He behaves like a child.
come se as if	Ele comporta-se como se fosse uma criança. He behaves as if he were a child.
… do que . . . than	Está mais quente este ano do que o ano passado. This year has been hotter than the last.

Consecutive

Consecutive conjunctions introduce a consequence of what is expressed in the main clause.

Conjunction	Usage example
… de tal modo que, de tal maneira que . . . in such a way that	Ele ficou chocado de tal modo que não conseguia falar. He got shocked in such a way that he couldn’t say a word.

Integrating 

Integrating conjunctions link the main clause’s verb to its object.

Conjunction	Usage example
que that	O Gabriel disse que vinha cá hoje. Gabriel said that he would come today.
se if	Ela perguntou-me se podia passar cá a noite.  She asked me if she could spend the night here.

Reading tips! What about Portuguese prepositions, have you already learned the basics? Here’s a read for you: Basic Portuguese Prepositions and Contractions: An Inclusive Usage Rundown.