Verb tenses · Brazilian Portuguese
Portuguese Personal Infinitive (Infinitivo pessoal)
The personal infinitive is an infinitive with its own subject and endings, used mostly after prepositions: para eles saberem, antes de vocês saírem.
Deixei a chave para vocês entrarem. I left the key so you could get in.
- Mostly in writing
- Level B2
- Same in Portugal
- falar +
- - - -mos -em
- comer +
- - - -mos -em
- partir +
- - - -mos -em
When to use the personal infinitive
After para, when someone else does the action.
Eu trouxe comida para vocês comerem.
I brought food for you to eat.
After antes de, depois de and até, instead of a full clause.
Antes de vocês saírem, fechem a janela.
Before you leave, close the window.
After sem, for “without someone doing something”.
Eles entraram sem nós vermos.
They came in without us seeing.
After é melhor, é importante and similar phrases, to say who.
É importante vocês chegarem cedo.
It's important that you get here early.
After por, to thank or apologize for what someone did.
Obrigada por virem!
Thanks for coming!
Often confused with the present subjunctive.
Regular verbs
Every regular verb follows one of these three: -ar like falar (to speak), -er like comer (to eat), -ir like partir (to leave). The ending is in bold and underlined. Tu is used in parts of Brazil, and is shown last.
| Person | falar | comer | partir |
|---|---|---|---|
| eueu | falar | comer | partir |
| vocêvocê, ele, ela, a gente | falar | comer | partir |
| nósnós | falarmos | comermos | partirmos |
| vocêsvocês, eles, elas | falarem | comerem | partirem |
| tuturegional | falares | comeres | partires |
Any verb in the personal infinitive
How Brazilians use it
A gente makes it easy
In conversation Brazilians often use a gente, which needs no ending: é melhor a gente ir, antes de a gente sair. In casual speech you'll also hear the ending dropped (para eles sair), but in writing it's expected.
It looks like the future subjunctive
For regular verbs the two are the same: falarmos, falarem. They part ways with irregular verbs: para nós fazermos (personal infinitive) but quando nós fizermos (future subjunctive).
In Portugal
The personal infinitive works the same way in Portugal.
Common mistakes
Not
Antes de vocês sair, fechem a janela.ButAntes de vocês saírem, fechem a janela.
When the infinitive has its own subject, it takes that subject's ending: vocês saírem, nós sairmos.
Not
Liguei para eles fizerem o trabalho.ButLiguei para eles fazerem o trabalho.
The personal infinitive is never irregular: it's the infinitive plus -mos or -em. Fizerem is the future subjunctive.
Not
Ele trouxe o livro para mim ler.ButEle trouxe o livro para eu ler.
The subject of an infinitive is eu, not mim. Para mim ler is common in speech, but it's marked as wrong.
Practise the personal infinitive
Ten questions on the most common verbs. Type the form; you'll see right or wrong at once.
Cheat sheet
The endings and the most common irregular verbs on one printable page.
Personal Infinitive cheat sheet (PDF)Questions
What is the personal infinitive in Portuguese?
An infinitive that takes endings for its subject: para nós sabermos, antes de eles saírem. Hardly any other language has it, and it often replaces a subjunctive clause: para eles saberem means the same as para que eles saibam.
How do you form the personal infinitive in Portuguese?
Start from the infinitive and add nothing for eu and você, -mos for nós and -em for vocês and eles: falar, falarmos, falarem. It has no irregular verbs: fazer gives fazermos and fazerem.
When do you use the personal infinitive in Portuguese?
Mostly after prepositions like para, antes de, depois de, sem and por, when the verb has its own subject, and after phrases like é melhor and é importante: é melhor vocês irem agora.
Do Brazilians use the personal infinitive?
Yes, most of all in writing and careful speech. In conversation it shows up in set patterns like antes de vocês saírem and obrigado por virem, and many speakers get around it with a gente: é melhor a gente ir.
Related tenses: the future subjunctive, the imperfect subjunctive
See the personal infinitive in real books
Tables teach the forms; stories teach when to use them. Read Brazilian books and stories at your level, tap any verb for its meaning in that sentence, and press Listen to hear the page in a Brazilian voice.
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