Temporal conjunctions answer "when?" — they anchor one event to another in time: before, after, while, as soon as. The complication for English speakers is that Portuguese splits the mood by time reference: the same conjunction can take the indicative (for past or habitual events) or the future subjunctive (for events that haven't happened yet). On top of that, two conjunctions are fixed — antes que always takes the subjunctive, depois que always the indicative. This page sorts out exactly which is which.
The core split: future events take the future subjunctive
English uses the present tense for a future "when" clause: "When I arrive, I'll call you" — note "arrive," not "will arrive." Portuguese does something English cannot: it has a dedicated future subjunctive for precisely this slot. So "when I arrive" pointing to the future is quando eu chegar, not quando eu chego.
This is the central rule for quando, assim que, and logo que: future reference → future subjunctive; habitual or past reference → indicative.
quando — "when" (indicative or future subjunctive)
| Time reference | Mood | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Habitual (general) | present indicative | Quando eu chego, tomo café. |
| Past (single event) | preterite indicative | Quando eu cheguei, tomei café. |
| Future | future subjunctive | Quando eu chegar, vou tomar café. |
Quando eu chego em casa, a primeira coisa que faço é tirar o sapato.
When I get home, the first thing I do is take off my shoes. (habitual — indicative)
Quando eu cheguei, todo mundo já tinha saído.
When I arrived, everyone had already left. (past — indicative)
Quando eu chegar, te mando uma mensagem.
When I get there, I'll text you. (future — future subjunctive)
Watch the irregular future subjunctive forms again: quando eu for (ser/ir), quando você vir (ver), quando tivermos (ter), quando puderem (poder).
enquanto — "while / as long as" (indicative)
Enquanto describes two simultaneous, ongoing actions and stays in the indicative — even for the future, where it uses the future indicative or ir + infinitive.
Enquanto você cozinha, eu arrumo a mesa.
While you cook, I'll set the table.
Enquanto durmo, deixo o celular no silencioso.
While I sleep, I leave my phone on silent.
Vou te esperar enquanto for preciso.
I'll wait for you as long as it's necessary. (here 'enquanto' + future subjunctive in the 'as long as' sense)
In the plain "while" sense, enquanto is firmly indicative; in the "as long as / for however long" sense pointing to the future, it can take the future subjunctive, paralleling quando.
assim que / logo que — "as soon as" (future subjunctive for the future)
Both mean "as soon as." Like quando, they take the future subjunctive for future events and the indicative for past/habitual ones.
Assim que eu terminar, te aviso.
As soon as I finish, I'll let you know. (future)
Logo que o sinal abrir, pode atravessar.
As soon as the light turns green, you can cross. (future)
Assim que cheguei, percebi que tinha esquecido a chave.
As soon as I arrived, I realized I'd forgotten the key. (past — indicative)
antes que — ALWAYS the subjunctive
Antes que ("before") is special: it always takes the subjunctive, never the indicative, regardless of timeframe. The logic is built into the meaning — an event "before which" something happens has, at that point, not yet occurred, so it is inherently non-asserted.
Vamos resolver isso antes que seja tarde demais.
Let's sort this out before it's too late.
Saí antes que ele chegasse.
I left before he arrived. (past — imperfect subjunctive)
Feche a janela antes que comece a chover.
Close the window before it starts raining.
If the subject is the same in both clauses, Portuguese strongly prefers antes de + infinitive instead: Lavo as mãos antes de comer ("I wash my hands before eating"), not "antes que eu coma."
depois que — the indicative counterpart
The mirror image of antes que is depois que ("after"), which takes the indicative — once something happens "after" a point, that point is a real, completed reference. For the future it uses the future subjunctive, like quando.
Depois que ele saiu, todo mundo relaxou.
After he left, everyone relaxed. (past — indicative)
Depois que você terminar, a gente vai ao cinema.
After you finish, we'll go to the movies. (future — future subjunctive)
So the pair is asymmetric: antes que is always subjunctive, while depois que follows the indicative/future-subjunctive split.
até que, sempre que, à medida que, desde que
Até que ("until") leans to the subjunctive, especially when the endpoint is anticipated rather than already reached.
Vou insistir até que ele aceite.
I'll keep insisting until he accepts. (subjunctive)
Esperamos até que a chuva passasse.
We waited until the rain stopped. (past — imperfect subjunctive)
Sempre que ("whenever") and à medida que ("as / in proportion as") take the indicative for habitual/present situations, and the future subjunctive when projected into the future.
Sempre que eu viajo, compro um ímã de geladeira.
Whenever I travel, I buy a fridge magnet. (habitual — indicative)
À medida que os anos passam, a gente valoriza mais o tempo.
As the years go by, we value time more. (indicative)
Desde que in its temporal sense ("ever since") takes the indicative — distinct from its conditional sense ("provided that") with the subjunctive.
Desde que me mudei pra cá, durmo muito melhor.
Ever since I moved here, I sleep much better. (temporal — indicative)
Common Mistakes
❌ Quando eu chego em casa amanhã, te ligo.
Incorrect — a future event needs the future subjunctive (chegar), not the present indicative.
✅ Quando eu chegar em casa amanhã, te ligo.
When I get home tomorrow, I'll call you.
❌ Saí antes que ele chegou.
Incorrect — 'antes que' always takes the subjunctive (chegasse).
✅ Saí antes que ele chegasse.
I left before he arrived.
❌ Assim que eu terminarei, te aviso.
Incorrect — 'assim que' takes the future subjunctive (terminar), not the future indicative.
✅ Assim que eu terminar, te aviso.
As soon as I finish, I'll let you know.
❌ Depois que ele saísse, todo mundo relaxou.
Incorrect — 'depois que' takes the indicative (saiu), not the subjunctive.
✅ Depois que ele saiu, todo mundo relaxou.
After he left, everyone relaxed.
Key Takeaways
Quando,assim que,logo que: future subjunctive for the future, indicative for habitual/past.Antes que: always subjunctive. (Same subject →antes de- infinitive.)
Depois que,enquanto,sempre que,à medida que, temporaldesde que: indicative (future subjunctive when projected to the future).Até que: typically subjunctive.- The recurring English trap is the present-tense "when I arrive"; Portuguese fills that slot with the future subjunctive (
quando chegar).
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Start learning Portuguese→Related Topics
- Temporal Discourse MarkersB1 — How Brazilian Portuguese locates events in time relative to each other — quando, enquanto, assim que, à medida que, antigamente vs hoje em dia — and why some of them force the future subjunctive.
- Conjunctions and Mood SelectionB1 — The master table mapping each Brazilian Portuguese conjunction to the mood it governs — indicative, subjunctive, or future subjunctive — and the assertion principle that predicts them all.
- Adverbial ClausesB1 — How Brazilian Portuguese builds time, cause, condition, concession, purpose, result and comparison clauses — and why each conjunction picks the indicative or the subjunctive.
- Futuro do Subjuntivo: UsageA2 — When to use the future subjunctive in Brazilian Portuguese — the obligatory form after 'quando', 'se', 'enquanto', 'assim que' and other time conjunctions pointing to the future.
- The Subjunctive in BR Portuguese: OverviewA2 — What the subjunctive is, why Brazilian Portuguese keeps all three of its tenses fully alive, and what triggers it.