Portuguese Present Subjunctive: Conjugation and Usage

The use of the subjunctive in Portuguese is way more frequent than in English. That alone can be a stumbling block for many language learners as they may lack the feel for when to use it.

In general, the present subjunctive in Portuguese is used to express uncertainty, doubt, will, and opinion, among others.

Here’re a few examples:

In what follows, I will walk you through the present subjunctive’s conjugation and usage in greater detail.

Let’s dive right into it.

• Conjugation
  • Regular verbs
  • Irregular verbs
• When to use the present subjunctive
  • Verbs expressing will, desire, emotion, and doubt
  • Expressing doubt with “talvez”
  • Expressing opinion
  • Impersonal structures
  • Exclamative structures 
  • Dependent clauses
    • Concessive clauses
    • Time clauses
    • Final clauses
    • Conditional clauses
    • Completive clauses

Related reads.
• Portuguese Past Subjunctive: Conjugation and Usage
• Portuguese Future Subjunctive – Conjugation and Usage

Conjugation

Regular verbs

Concerning regular verbs, the present subjunctive is easy to form. You take the stem from the infinitive form and add the conjugation-endings according to each group:

* Learn more about Portuguese regular verbs: Portuguese Regular Verbs and Conjugation Patterns in the Present Tense.

Note that a handful of regular verbs need to have their spellings tweaked to conform to Portuguese pronunciation patterns*, namely verbs whose infinitive forms end in -car, -gar, -cer, and -çar:

* Learn more about Portuguese’s spelling-pronunciation patterns and phonology: European Portuguese Pronunciation: A Helpful Guide to Its Elemental Sounds and Spelling-Pronunciation Patterns.

Irregular verbs

Going from the first-person of the indicative-mood

There are several irregular verbs where you can still apply the conjugation patterns above. However, you get the stem from the first-person of the indicative-mood (present tense), and not from their infinite form: 

Know it by heart

For a few other irregular verbs, you don’t have any reference stem to go from –  you’ll have to learn it by heart. Still, many of them take the same familiar endings of the present subjunctive:

When to use the present subjunctive

The present subjunctive in Portuguese is often used in complex sentences and placed inside the dependent clause (right after a linking word or expression). In this section, I will guide you through several such structures.

! We often use the personal subjunctive in structures where we could also use the present infinitive instead. In that sense, they are closely related and whether we use one or the other often depends on the linking word/expression being used. Here’s a reading that goes hand in hand with the present article: Portuguese Personal Infinitive: What Is It and When to Use It.

Verbs expressing will, desire, emotion, and doubt

We often use the present subjunctive when the verbs in the main clause express either will, desire, emotion, or doubt, and are followed by the linking word que*.

* que corresponds to that in English – it is a linking word* that introduces dependent clauses and is often followed by subjunctives.

Here’re a few such verbs:

And here are some examples of sentences:

* Learn more about Portuguese linking words (conjunctions): Portuguese Conjunctions: A Practical Guide Anchored to English.

Expressing doubt with “talvez”

We use the present subjunctive when expressing doubt with the adverb talvez (maybe):

However, there are other adverbs equivalent to talvez that call to  the indicative mood instead:

Expressing opinion

We use the indicative mode when we express our opinion and beliefs * in affirmative sentences. In negative sentences, however, we use the present subjunctive:

* To express opinion and beliefs, we often use the verbs pensar, achar, acreditar, and crer among others.

Impersonal structures

é + adjective + que + subjunctive

We often use the present subjunctive after the structure é + adjective + que:  

Note! In situations expressing facts and certainty, the verb of the dependent clause is normally in the indicative mood. But as soon as that certainty is negated, the subjunctive shows again:

Há + quem + subjunctive

We use the present subjunctive after the impersonal expression há quem *:

* Haver is a very special verb and we use it all the time. Learn more about it in this article: The Portuguese Verb “Haver” and All the Things You Say with It.

Exclamative structures

The present subjunctive often follows exclamative (and  frequent) expressions such as Oxalá, Deus queira que, and Tomara que:

Dependent clauses

Concessive clauses

We often use the present subjunctive in concessive clauses*. In Portuguese, common linking words introducing concessive clauses are mesmo que, ainda que, or embora, among others:  

Here’re some examples:

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

Time clauses

We use the present subjunctive in time clauses*. In Portuguese, common linking words introducing time clauses are logo que, antes que, or até que. A few examples:

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

Final clauses

We use the present subjunctive in final clauses*. In Portuguese, final clauses are often preceded by linking expressions such as para que or a fim de que:

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

Conditional clauses

We often use the present subjunctive in conditional clauses*. In Portuguese, the present subjunctive often follows the linking expressions caso, desde que, and a não ser que:

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

Completive clauses

We use the present subjunctive in completive clauses* when the latter follow verbs that express doubt, emotions, orders, or wishes. In this case, these clauses are invariably introduced by que:

* Completive clauses, also known as complement clauses, complete the idea of the verb in the main clause. In English, they are often introduced by the linking word that.