Concessive Clauses (Although, Even Though) | Portuguese (Brazil) Grammar

A concessive clause expresses a contrast or concession: it sets up an obstacle, then says the main event happens anyway. In English these are the "although," "even though," and "even if" clauses — "Although it's raining, I'm going out." Portuguese has a rich set of concessive connectors, and the thing that trips up almost every English speaker is that the main concessive conjunctions (embora, mesmo que, ainda que) require the subjunctive — even when the clause states a plain, undisputed fact.

This page explains how each connector behaves, why the subjunctive shows up where English uses the indicative, and how to choose between a conjunction (which needs a full clause) and apesar de (which takes an infinitive or a noun).

Embora + subjunctive — the core concessive

Embora is the everyday word for "although / even though." It is followed by the subjunctive, full stop.

Embora chova, vou sair mesmo assim.

Even though it's raining, I'm going out anyway.

Embora ele seja rico, vive de forma muito simples.

Although he's rich, he lives very simply.

Look closely at that second example. The man is rich — that is a fact, not a doubt. In English we say "Although he is rich," with the plain indicative. But Portuguese uses seja, the present subjunctive. Why?

The logic is that a concessive conjunction does not assert the clause as a free-standing truth; it backgrounds it, holds it up only to set it against the main clause. The subjunctive is Portuguese's mood for information that is not being asserted on its own — wishes, doubts, hypotheticals, and, crucially, conceded information. You are not stating "he is rich" as your point; you are granting it in order to contrast it. That subordinated, non-asserted status is exactly what the subjunctive marks here.

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Don't let the factual meaning fool you. Embora, mesmo que, and ainda que take the subjunctive regardless of whether the clause is true. The subjunctive here signals "this is being conceded/backgrounded," not "this is doubtful." This is the single most important point on the page.

Embora estivesse cansado, terminou o relatório naquela noite.

Although he was tired, he finished the report that night.

Note the tense matching: a past main clause pulls the concessive into the imperfect subjunctive (estivesse), just as a present main clause uses the present subjunctive.

Mesmo que + subjunctive — "even if"

Mesmo que leans toward the hypothetical end of concession: "even if." It also takes the subjunctive.

Mesmo que chova amanhã, a festa vai acontecer.

Even if it rains tomorrow, the party is going to happen.

Eu não conto pra ninguém, mesmo que me paguem.

I won't tell anyone, even if they pay me.

Because mesmo que often points at something not-yet-real ("even if it happens"), its subjunctive feels more intuitive to English speakers — English itself shifts toward the subjunctive-flavored "even if it were to rain." Use mesmo que when the obstacle is a possibility; use embora when you concede something already the case.

Ainda que + subjunctive — "even though / even if"

Ainda que is close to embora in meaning ("even though") but a touch more emphatic or formal, and it can also cover "even if." Subjunctive again.

Ainda que demore, eu vou esperar.

Even if it takes a while, I'm going to wait.

Ainda que você não acredite, é verdade.

Even though you don't believe it, it's true.

Connector	Meaning	Mood	Flavor
embora	although / even though	subjunctive	neutral, very common; concedes a fact
mesmo que	even if	subjunctive	hypothetical obstacle
ainda que	even though / even if	subjunctive	emphatic, slightly formal
apesar de	despite / in spite of	infinitive / noun	compresses the clause; see below

Apesar de + infinitive or noun — the non-clause concessive

Apesar de means "despite / in spite of." It does not take a conjugated verb. Instead it takes a noun or an infinitive (often the personal infinitive when there's an explicit subject).

Apesar da chuva, fomos à praia.

Despite the rain, we went to the beach.

Apesar de estar cansado, ele continuou trabalhando.

Despite being tired, he kept working.

When the concessive clause and the main clause share the same subject, apesar de + infinitive is usually the most natural choice — lighter than a full embora clause:

Apesar de eu ter avisado, ninguém me ouviu.

Despite my having warned them, no one listened to me.

Here ter is a personal infinitive carrying the subject eu. This is a major structural difference from English, which has no inflected infinitive and must say "despite the fact that I warned them" or "despite my having warned." For the mechanics of inflecting the infinitive, see The Personal Infinitive with Prepositions.

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Choose by structure, not meaning. If you want a full conjugated clause, use embora / mesmo que / ainda que + subjunctive. If you want to compress it to a noun or an infinitive, use apesar de. Apesar de + a conjugated verb (❌ apesar de que ele é rico in careful BR) is widely considered incorrect; use apesar de ele ser rico or switch to embora ele seja rico.

Mesmo + gerund — the compact concessive

A very common spoken pattern is mesmo + the gerund (gerúndio), meaning "even (while) doing X." It compresses a concession into a single participial phrase.

Mesmo sabendo do risco, ele assinou o contrato.

Even knowing the risk, he signed the contract.

Mesmo morando longe, ela nunca falta às reuniões de família.

Even though she lives far away, she never misses the family gatherings.

This is closely related to the adverbial gerund covered in The Adverbial Gerund; mesmo simply adds the concessive twist of "even."

Colloquial só que — "but / except"

In casual speech, contrast is often handled not by a concessive clause at all but by só que, roughly "but / it's just that." It is informal and extremely frequent.

Eu ia te ligar, só que esqueci o celular em casa.

I was going to call you, it's just that I left my phone at home.

Só que (informal) introduces an independent clause in the indicative — it is a coordinator like mas, not a true subordinating concessive — but it does the same conversational job of flagging a contrast.

Common Mistakes

❌ Embora ele é rico, vive de forma simples.

Incorrect — embora requires the subjunctive, not the indicative é.

✅ Embora ele seja rico, vive de forma simples.

Although he's rich, he lives simply. Embora takes the subjunctive even for facts.

❌ Apesar de que estava cansado, continuou.

Incorrect — apesar de does not take a conjugated clause with que in careful BR.

✅ Apesar de estar cansado, continuou.

Despite being tired, he kept going. Apesar de takes an infinitive or noun.

❌ Mesmo que ele é meu amigo, não vou mentir por ele.

Incorrect — mesmo que requires the subjunctive seja, not the indicative é.

✅ Mesmo que ele seja meu amigo, não vou mentir por ele.

Even though he's my friend, I won't lie for him.

❌ Embora chove, vou sair.

Incorrect — chove is indicative; the present subjunctive of chover is chova.

✅ Embora chova, vou sair.

Even though it's raining, I'm going out.

❌ Apesar de a chuva, fomos à praia.

Incorrect — apesar de contracts with the article: de + a = da.

✅ Apesar da chuva, fomos à praia.

Despite the rain, we went to the beach.

Key Takeaways

The concessive conjunctions embora, mesmo que, and ainda que all take the subjunctive — even when the clause is plainly true. The subjunctive marks conceded, backgrounded information, not doubt.
Apesar de takes a noun or infinitive, never a conjugated que-clause; with an explicit subject, use the personal infinitive (apesar de eu ter avisado).
Mesmo + gerúndio (mesmo sabendo) is a compact, very common way to concede.
Só que (informal) handles contrast in casual speech as a coordinator, like mas.

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