The imperfect subjunctive in Portuguese
This lesson teaches you how to form and use the Portuguese imperfect subjunctive. It appears in imagined situations and after past wishes or requests. Although its name includes “imperfect,” it can describe a present or future hypothetical situation.
What the imperfect subjunctive is
- subjuntivo imperfeitoimperfect subjunctive
When to use the imperfect subjunctive
Use the imperfect subjunctive for an imagined situation or a request made in the past. In hypothetical conditions after “se,” use forms such as “tivesse”: “Se eu tivesse mais tempo, estudaria todos os dias.” You will see how to form and use it in the following sections.
O subjuntivo imperfeito pode descrever uma situação imaginária.
The imperfect subjunctive can describe an imagined situation.
Um pedido feito no passado também pode vir com o subjuntivo imperfeito.
How to form the -sse forms
Start with the third-person plural of the Portuguese preterite (pretérito perfeito), remove -ram, and add the ending for the subject: -sse for eu, você, ele, ela and a gente; -sses for tu; -ssemos for nós; and -ssem for vocês, eles and elas. Thus, “foram” gives “fosse,” “tiveram” gives “tivesse,” “fizeram” gives “fizesse,” and “puderam” gives “pudesse.” The nós forms need a written accent, as shown in the table. The table gives standard tu agreement; the use of tu and its verb agreement vary across Brazil. Tu and você do not form a simple informal/formal pair.
| Pronoun | Study | Eat | Open | Be | Have | Do | Be able to |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pronome | estudar | comer | abrir | ser | ter | fazer | poder |
| pretérito perfeito | eles estudaram | eles comeram | eles abriram | eles foram | eles tiveram | eles fizeram | eles puderam |
| radical | estuda- | come- | abri- | fo- | tive- | fize- | pude- |
| eu | estudasse | comesse | abrisse | fosse | tivesse | fizesse | pudesse |
| tu | estudasses | comesses | abrisses | fosses | tivesses | fizesses | pudesses |
| você | estudasse | comesse | abrisse | fosse | tivesse | fizesse | pudesse |
| ele | estudasse | comesse | abrisse | fosse | tivesse | fizesse | pudesse |
| ela | estudasse | comesse | abrisse | fosse | tivesse | fizesse | pudesse |
| nós | estudássemos | comêssemos | abríssemos | fôssemos | tivéssemos | fizéssemos | pudéssemos |
| vocês | estudassem | comessem | abrissem | fossem | tivessem | fizessem | pudessem |
| eles | estudassem | comessem | abrissem | fossem | tivessem | fizessem | pudessem |
Hypothetical conditions with the conditional result
For these hypothetical conditions, use “se” with the imperfect subjunctive and usually the conditional for the result. English usually uses “would” in the result; Portuguese can express this with a verb ending: “Se eu fosse professor, trabalharia com crianças.”
Se condição no {subjuntivo imperfeito|imperfect-subjunctive} , resultado no futuro do pretérito . if-i-were-a-teacher-i-would if-i-had-more-time-i-would if-he-did-the-shopping-i-would if-we-could-leave-early-we-would
Se eu fosse professor, trabalharia com crianças.
Se eu tivesse mais tempo, estudaria todos os dias.
Se ele fizesse as compras, eu prepararia o jantar.
Se a gente pudesse sair mais cedo, pegaria o trem.
Conditional results and conversational imperfect results
The hypothetical result can use the conditional, as in “estudaria,” or the indicative imperfect in conversation, as in “estudava.” The condition still uses the imperfect subjunctive: “Se eu tivesse mais tempo, estudava todo dia.” Here “estudava” expresses a hypothetical result, not a past habit; English normally uses “would study” for this meaning. The conditional is also natural in conversation, and the indicative imperfect is a common conversational alternative.
Se condição no {subjuntivo imperfeito|imperfect-subjunctive} , resultado no futuro do pretérito ou no pretérito imperfeito em conversa . if-i-had-more-time-i-would i-would-study-every-day-if-i if-we-could-leave-early-we-would we-would-take-the-train-if-we
Se eu tivesse mais tempo, estudaria todos os dias.
Se eu tivesse mais tempo, estudava todo dia.
Se a gente pudesse sair mais cedo, pegaria o trem.
A gente ia de trem se pudesse sair cedo.
Past wishes about another person
After “querer” in the past, a wish about another person can use “que” followed by the imperfect subjunctive: “Eu queria que minha irmã fosse feliz.” English uses an object plus an infinitive in “I wanted my sister to be happy”; Portuguese uses a clause whose verb agrees with its own subject. “Fosse” does not have to describe something that happened before the wish.
querer no passado que outra pessoa estado ou qualidade no {subjuntivo imperfeito|imperfect-subjunctive} . i-wanted-my-sister-to-be-happy she-wanted-us-to-have-more-time
Eu queria que minha irmã fosse feliz.
Ela queria que a gente tivesse mais tempo junto.
Requests made in the past
After “pedir” in the past, use “que” and the imperfect subjunctive for the requested action: “Minha mãe pediu que eu fizesse as compras.” English commonly uses an object plus an infinitive: “My mother asked me to do the shopping.” In Portuguese, the subjunctive agrees with the subject of the requested action. “Eu” and “a gente” both take the singular form; “nós” takes the plural form, as in “fizéssemos” or “esperássemos.”
pedir no passado que pessoa solicitada ação no {subjuntivo imperfeito|imperfect-subjunctive} . my-mother-asked-me-to-do-the he-asked-us-to-wait-outside
Minha mãe pediu que eu fizesse as compras.
Ele pediu que a gente esperasse lá fora.
When the person who wants something also does the action
When the person who wants something is also the subject of the desired action, normally use the infinitive: “Eu queria estudar em casa.” When the desired action has a different subject, use “que” and the imperfect subjunctive: “Meu pai queria que eu estudasse em casa.” English also uses an infinitive when the subject is the same, but commonly uses an object plus an infinitive when the subjects differ.
Eu queria estudar em casa.
Meu pai queria que eu estudasse em casa.