Conceito novo
A mood for what isn't real yet
Everything you've said in Portuguese so far has been about facts — things that happen, happened or will happen. Those verbs are in the indicative: Você fala português. — You speak Portuguese.
The subjunctive (o subjuntivo) is for things that aren't facts yet: what someone wants, hopes or asks for. Espero que você fale com ele. — I hope you talk to him.
It nearly always comes after que, in the second half of a sentence; the first half switches it on. To build it, take the eu form of the present, drop the -o and swap the vowel: -ar verbs take -e, -er and -ir verbs take -a.
| Pronoun | Falar (eu falo) | Comer (eu como) | Abrir (eu abro) |
|---|---|---|---|
| que eu | fale | coma | abra |
| que você / ele / ela | fale | coma | abra |
| que nós | falemos | comamos | abramos |
| que vocês / eles / elas | falem | comam | abram |
In the subjunctive, eu and você share one form: que eu fale, que você fale. Now try estudar (eu estudo) — the forms you'd use after que.