In Brazilian Portuguese, the present subjunctive is used to express uncertainties, doubts, wishes, assumptions, and possibilities about events related to the present or the future. For instance:
The present subjunctive is mainly used in subordinate clauses, in which case the verb in the main clause is in the simple present, future indicative, or the imperative. If you’d like to see more examples and uses, stay tuned and get to know more about this interesting verb tense in Brazilian Portuguese!
How to form the present subjunctive in Brazilian Portuguese?
To form the present subjunctive in Brazilian Portuguese, you must first discover whether the verb you are using is regular (i.e. follows fixed rules) or irregular (i.e. has at least some forms that must be memorized). Here’s how to form the present subjunctive for each type of verb.
Verbs with spelling changes
To form the present subjunctive of regular verbs in Brazilian Portuguese, we follow the steps below.
Start with the first person singular, present indicative form of the verb:
eu falo meaning I speak
Delete the first-person ending, and keep only the stem of the verb:
eu falo → fal-
Add the present subjunctive endings:
Subject Pronouns falar meaning to speak comer meaning to eat abrir meaning to open eu meaning Ifalecomaabratu meaning youfalescomasabrasvocê meaning you, sg.ele meaning he, itela meaning she, itfalecomaabranós meaning wefalemoscomamosabramosvós* meaning you, formalfaleiscomaisabraisvocês meaning you, pl.eles, elas meaning theyfalemcomamabram
It’s easy to memorize the endings in the present subjunctive, because they’re almost the same as the endings for the present indicative and present subjunctive. The only difference is the first vowel of the ending:
-ar verbs: change the indicative endings from -a to -e
indicative
⇒
você falasubjunctive
você fale-er / -ir verbs: change the indicative endings from -e / -i to -a
indicative
⇒
você comesubjunctive
você coma
Which verbs have spelling changes in the present subjunctive?
You will need to make some slight spelling changes between the infinitive and the present subjunctive forms of regular verbs that end in -cer, -car, -çar, -ger, -gir, -guer, or -guir, in order to preserve the original pronunciation of the stem.
For example:
agir transcribed ah-jirmeaning to act → eu ajo transcribed ah-jomeaning I act
Here are the spelling changes you’ll need to apply to each of the endings listed above:
| Endings | Example |
|---|---|
-cer ⇒ -ça | conhecer ⇒ conheça Translation: to know |
-car ⇒ -que | provocar ⇒ provoque Translation: to provoke |
-çar ⇒ -ce | começar ⇒ comece Translation: to start |
-ger / -gir ⇒ -ja | proteger / fugir ⇒ proteja / fuja Translation: to protect / to escape |
-guer / -guir ⇒ -ga | erguer / prosseguir ⇒ erga / prossiga Translation: to lift / to proceed |
Have a look at this chart to see the complete conjugations of these spelling-change verbs in the present subjunctive!
How to form the present subjunctive: irregular verbs
In Brazilian Portuguese, there are seven irregular verbs in the present subjunctive form. As with all irregular verbs, we have to learn them by heart. These verbs are: dar meaning to give, estar meaning to be, haver meaning to be, there is/there are, ir meaning to go, querer meaning to want, saber meaning to know, and ser meaning to be. For example:
ser meaning to be | ⇒ | eu seja, tu sejas, ela seja, nós sejamos, vós sejais, elas sejam |
estar meaning to be | ⇒ | eu esteja, tu estejas, ele esteja, nós estejamos, vós estejais, eles estejam |
Curious to know the others? Take a look at the seven verbs that are irregular in the present subjunctive.
How to use the present subjunctive in Brazilian Portuguese?
The present subjunctive is mostly used in the subordinate clause (or “dependent clause”) of a complex sentence, but it can also be used in simple sentences. In both cases, the present subjunctive is used to describe a situation that may or may not occur in the present or in the future.
Complex sentence:
main clausesubordinate clauseEu espero que vocês conversem.Translation: I hope that you talk.A subordinate clause cannot stand alone. It is introduced by the conjunction que meaning that, and it completes the meaning of the main clause.Simple sentence:
Talvez eu almoce em casa hoje.Translation: Maybe I will have lunch at home today.A simple sentence stands alone, with a subject and a verb.
In everyday language, we most often use the present subjunctive in a simple sentence after the adverb talvez meaning maybe, which indicates possibility or doubt. There are also some imperative expressions that trigger the present subjunctive in simple sentences.
In complex sentences, whether or not you’ll use the subjunctive depends on the structure of the main clause. You can follow the criteria below to better know when to use the present subjunctive:
Does the main clause contain a trigger (see below) for the subjunctive?
Is the verb in the main clause in the present indicative, future indicative, or the imperative?
If so, then we must use the present subjunctive in the subordinate clause. Now let’s get to know which expressions trigger the present subjunctive!
W.E.I.R.D. expressions that trigger the present subjunctive
The present subjunctive appears after certain expressions that we call “W.E.I.R.D.” expressions, which stands for: Wishes, Emotions, Impersonal Expressions, Requests, Doubts/denials.
We use the subjunctive for an action or situation that you are wishing for, having emotions about, are requesting, or are doubting/denying is taking place now or in the future. We also use the subjunctive or for an action that you are describing with an impersonal expression (an expression without a specific subject) in the present or future tense.
See some examples in the chart below:
| Wishes | Eu desejo que você venha ao Brasil. Translation: I wish you would come to Brazil. |
|---|---|
| Emotions | Que pena que você não queira sair hoje! Translation: It’s a shame you don't want to go out today! |
| Impersonal Expressions | É importante que eles ganhem o jogo. Translation: It’s important that they win the game. |
| Requests | Eu sugiro que você procure o gerente. Translation: I suggest you look for the manager. |
| Doubt or Denial | Eu duvido que ele chegue cedo. Translation: I doubt he will arrive early. Não acho que ele saiba o caminho. Translation: I don’t think he knows the way. |
W.E.I.R.D. expressions that trigger the present subjunctive are usually in the simple present indicative (as in the examples above), however they can also be in the future indicative or the imperative. Usually, the subordinate clause containing the present subjunctive verb is introduced by the conjunction que meaning that.
For example:
- futurepresent subjunctiveSerá importante que ele faça amigos na escola nova.Translation: It will be important that he makes friends in the new school.
- imperativepresent subjunctivePeça que ele procure o gerente para falar sobre isso!Translation: Ask that he looks for the manager to talk about it!
I recommend you to take a look in the chart with more expressions commonly used with the present subjunctive, for more examples.
Conjunctions that trigger the present subjunctive
There are several Brazilian Portuguese conjunctions that trigger the present subjunctive, when the verb expresses a possible event in the present or in future. As we saw above, the verb in the main clause also has to be in the present tense, future tense, or in the imperative.
- present tenseconjunctionpresent subjunctiveQuero uma pizza embora eu não coma queijo.Translation: I want a pizza even though I don’t eat cheese.
- future tenseconjunctionpresent subjunctiveIrei ao parque mesmo que chova.Translation: I will go to the park even if it rains.
- imperativeconjunctionpresent subjunctiveCompre os ingressos antes que os preços aumentem.Translation: Buy the tickets before the prices go up.
Conjunctions that trigger the subjunctive are those that tend to belong to certain groups, in terms of their meaning. For example:
conjunctions of condition → mesmo que meaning even if, caso meaning in case, a não ser que meaning unless, desde que meaning as long as...
conjunctions of time → antes que meaning before, até que meaning until...
conjunctions of concession → embora meaning even though, ainda que meaning even if/even though, mesmo que meaning even though...
conjunctions of purpose → a fim de que meaning in order to, para que meaning in order to / to...
Take a look at this full list of conjunctions that trigger the present subjunctive to see some examples!
Present subjunctive in adjective clauses
The present subjunctive can be used in adjective clauses, also called relative clauses. These are subordinate clauses, usually introduced by the relative pronoun que meaning that, that provide descriptive information about a noun, much like an adjective. If the present subjunctive is used in the relative clause, the verb in the main clause is normally conjugated in the simple present indicative, future indicative, or in the imperative.
- present tensepresent subjunctiveQuero comprar um bolo que tenha caramelo.Translation: I want to buy a cake that has caramel in it.
- imperativepresent subjunctiveEstude em uma sala que seja mais silenciosa.Translation: Study in a room that is quieter.
Other expressions that trigger the present subjunctive in Brazilian Portuguese
There are also some additional expressions that can be followed by the present subjunctive in Brazilian Portuguese and require a bit more discussion. These are:
há quem meaning there are those
quem quer que / o que quer que meaning whoever/whatever
quer… quer meaning whether… or
We’ll examine each of them below.
Using the present subjunctive after ‘há quem’
We use the present subjunctive in the main clause after the expression há quem meaning there are those. Há quem means há pessoas que meaning there are people who, and, when it’s followed by the present subjunctive, expresses a general opinion or statement.
Using the present subjunctive with ‘quem quer que,’ ‘o que quer que’
We use the present subjunctive after expressions like quem quer que or o que quer que, which are equivalent to the English expressions “whoever” or “whatever.” They are used to introduce subordinate clauses that stand in for a nonspecific or otherwise unknown noun (which is why the verb in the clause is considered uncertain).
Notice, also, that the verbs in the main clause are conjugated in the simple future or in the present indicative.
Using the present subjunctive with ‘quer … quer’
The Brazilian Portuguese expression quer… quer meaning whether… or shows a choice between two alternative possibilities, and each part of this expression is followed by the present subjunctive. This expression can be used following the two structures below.
present subjunctive
present subjunctive
present subjunctive
In summary
In this post, we described how to form the present subjunctive in Brazilian Portuguese:
The present subjunctive uses its own endings.
Regular verbs use the verb stem of the first-person, simple present indicative (though sometimes there is a spelling change!)
There are only seven irregular verbs in the present subjunctive, and you can check our chart to see all these conjugations!
The present subjunctive is often used in subordinate or dependent clauses, and it can express wishes, emotions, requests, doubt, or denial. It's also used with impersonal expressions, and after certain conjunctions. There are also some particular expressions that are used with the present subjunctive.
Now practice what you learned about the present subjunctive with our activity!
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