Formal Connectors for Writing | Portuguese (Brazil) Grammar

Brazilian Portuguese has a stratum of connectors that almost never appear in conversation but saturate legal documents, official letters, academic papers, and old-fashioned literary prose. Words like outrossim, ademais, não obstante, and doravante are the Portuguese equivalent of English "hereinafter," "furthermore," "notwithstanding," and "henceforth." Knowing them is essential for reading officialese — contracts, court rulings, university regulations — and useful for writing genuinely formal documents. But overusing them in ordinary writing makes you sound like a 19th-century notary. This page teaches you to recognize them, place them, and choose their everyday equivalents.

Why this register exists

Portuguese juridical and academic prose deliberately preserves a conservative vocabulary that signals authority and impersonality. These connectors are not "wrong" or dead — they're alive and obligatory in their habitats. The skill is register matching: the same word that reads as precise in a contract reads as pretentious in an email. We'll mark each one and give the neutral modern equivalent.

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Rule of thumb: if you'd be surprised to hear a word spoken aloud by a friend, it belongs to the formal stratum. Reserve these connectors for documents that already use formal vocabulary throughout — never sprinkle one into otherwise casual writing, where it sticks out.

Adding information: outrossim, ademais

Outrossim (formal/legal) means "furthermore, likewise, moreover." It is overwhelmingly a written-administrative word; in speech it sounds almost comical. Ademais (formal) means "moreover, besides" and is slightly less stiff — common in argumentative and academic writing.

O réu não compareceu à audiência. Outrossim, deixou de apresentar os documentos exigidos.

The defendant did not appear at the hearing. Furthermore, he failed to submit the required documents. (legal)

A medida é cara. Ademais, não resolve o problema central.

The measure is expensive. Moreover, it doesn't solve the central problem. (academic/argumentative)

Everyday equivalents: além disso (besides, in addition) covers both in neutral prose and even in careful speech. Use além disso unless you're specifically writing a legal or formal document.

Drawing conclusions: por conseguinte, destarte/dessarte

Por conseguinte (formal) means "consequently, therefore" — the formal cousin of portanto. Destarte and its variant dessarte (formal/literary, dated) mean "thus, in this way." Both destarte and dessarte are correct spellings of the same word; both are now strongly old-fashioned and survive mostly in legal writing and deliberately archaizing prose.

As provas são insuficientes; por conseguinte, o pedido é indeferido.

The evidence is insufficient; consequently, the request is denied. (legal)

Cumpriram-se todas as formalidades. Destarte, o contrato é válido.

All formalities were observed. Thus, the contract is valid. (legal/dated)

Everyday equivalents: portanto (therefore), por isso (so, that's why), assim (thus). In normal writing, portanto does everything por conseguinte does without the starch.

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A practical reading strategy: when you hit one of these connectors in a contract or ruling, mentally swap in the everyday equivalent — outrossim → "and also," por conseguinte → "so," não obstante → "even so." The sentence's logic snaps into focus immediately.

Conceding and contrasting: não obstante, malgrado, conquanto

This is the contrast cluster:

não obstante (formal) — "notwithstanding, nonetheless." Works both as a connector ("nonetheless") and as a preposition ("notwithstanding X").
malgrado (formal/literary) — "despite, in spite of"; takes a noun.
conquanto (formal/literary) — "although, even though"; takes the subjunctive.

As taxas subiram. Não obstante, o consumo permaneceu estável.

Rates went up. Nonetheless, consumption stayed stable. (formal)

Malgrado os esforços da equipe, o projeto fracassou.

Despite the team's efforts, the project failed. (literary)

Conquanto seja jovem, demonstra grande maturidade.

Although he is young, he shows great maturity. (literary)

Note conquanto forces the subjunctive (seja, not é) — like its everyday equivalent embora. Everyday equivalents: apesar de (+ noun/infinitive), embora / ainda que (+ subjunctive), mesmo assim (nonetheless).

Giving reasons: porquanto

Porquanto (formal/archaic) means "since, because, inasmuch as." It introduces a justification and is heavily juridical. In speech and ordinary writing you'd never use it.

Indefere-se o pedido, porquanto não há amparo legal.

The request is denied, since there is no legal basis. (legal)

Everyday equivalents: porque (because), pois (for, since — slightly formal but normal), uma vez que / visto que (given that — neutral-formal and very usable).

Time and certainty: doravante, outrora, decerto

doravante (formal) — "henceforth, from now on." Pure contract/regulation vocabulary.
outrora (literary) — "formerly, in days gone by"; the elevated cousin of antigamente.
decerto (formal/literary) — "certainly, surely"; note the single-word spelling.

Doravante, todas as solicitações deverão ser feitas pelo sistema.

Henceforth, all requests must be made through the system. (formal)

Outrora florescente, a cidade hoje está abandonada.

Once flourishing, the city today lies abandoned. (literary)

Everyday equivalents: a partir de agora / de agora em diante (from now on), antigamente (in the old days), com certeza / certamente (certainly).

Signposting in academic prose: cabe destacar, é mister, com efeito

These are formal-but-living phrases that academic writers actually use:

cabe destacar / cabe ressaltar (academic) — "it is worth noting / pointing out."
(é) mister (formal/dated) — "it is necessary"; mister here is a noun meaning "need." Strongly old-fashioned.
com efeito (formal) — "indeed, in fact" (confirming a point), not "with effect."

Cabe destacar que os dados foram coletados em apenas uma região.

It is worth noting that the data were collected in only one region. (academic)

A hipótese se confirma. Com efeito, todos os testes apontam na mesma direção.

The hypothesis is confirmed. Indeed, all the tests point the same way. (academic)

É mister analisar o contexto histórico.

It is necessary to analyze the historical context. (formal/dated)

Beware the false friend: com efeito does not mean "with effect" — it means "indeed." This trips up English speakers constantly.

Common Mistakes

❌ (text to a friend) Tô cansado. Outrossim, preciso dormir.

Severe register clash — 'outrossim' in casual speech is absurd; use 'além disso' or just 'e'.

✅ Tô cansado. Além disso, preciso dormir.

I'm tired. Besides, I need to sleep.

❌ Conquanto ele é jovem, é maduro.

'Conquanto' takes the subjunctive — 'seja', not 'é'.

✅ Conquanto seja jovem, é maduro.

Although he is young, he is mature.

❌ Com efeito imediato, a lei entra em vigor.

False friend — 'com efeito' means 'indeed', not 'with effect'; use 'com efeito imediato' only if you really mean 'taking immediate effect'.

✅ Com efeito, a lei já está em vigor.

Indeed, the law is already in force.

The phrase com efeito imediato (with immediate effect) is a different, literal construction; the connector com efeito standing alone means "indeed."

❌ Não obstante a chuva, mas saímos.

Don't double the contrast — 'não obstante' already means 'despite', so drop the redundant 'mas'.

✅ Não obstante a chuva, saímos.

Despite the rain, we went out.

❌ Porquanto eu cheguei tarde, perdi o ônibus.

Overformal for everyday narrative — use 'como' or 'porque'.

✅ Como cheguei tarde, perdi o ônibus.

Since I arrived late, I missed the bus.

Key Takeaways

These connectors are alive in legal/academic/official prose but pompous anywhere else — match the register of the whole text.
Adding: outrossim / ademais → everyday além disso.
Concluding: por conseguinte / destarte → everyday portanto / por isso.
Contrasting: não obstante / malgrado / conquanto → everyday apesar de / embora / mesmo assim.
conquanto takes the subjunctive; com efeito means "indeed," not "with effect."
Their real value to a learner is reading officialese fluently — don't pad your own writing with them.

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