Wish Sentences (Tomara Que, Quem Dera)

A wish is, by definition, about something that isn't true yet — and that's why every wish sentence in Brazilian Portuguese runs on the subjunctive, the mood of the unreal. The whole art lies in matching the right wish-expression to the right subjunctive tense, because that pairing tells your listener whether you're hopeful ("fingers crossed it works out") or wistful ("if only I could"). Get the pairing right and you sound native; get it wrong and the emotion lands in the wrong place.

This page covers the everyday workhorse tomara que, the wistful quem dera, the formal oxalá, the neutral espero que, and the optative que + subjunctive. By the end you'll know not just the forms but the feeling each one carries.

The big distinction: hopeful vs. wistful

Two expressions sit at the heart of Brazilian wish sentences, and they split the emotional territory cleanly:

• Tomara que
  • present subjunctive = a hopeful wish about something still possible. "I hope / fingers crossed."
• Quem dera
  • imperfect subjunctive = a wistful, longing wish about something unlikely or impossible. "If only / I wish."

The tense does the emotional work. Tomara que dê uses the present subjunctive (dê) because the outcome is still up in the air — it might really happen. Quem dera... pudesse uses the imperfect subjunctive (pudesse) because the wish is contrary to reality — you can't go. This is the same logic English encodes with "I hope it works" (real possibility) versus "I wish I could" (acknowledged impossibility).

Tomara que — the everyday "I hope"

Tomara que is the single most useful wish expression in spoken Brazilian Portuguese. It's warm, informal, and constant. It always takes the present subjunctive.

Note the subjunctive forms: chova, consiga, chegue — never the indicative chove, consegue, chega. The whole construction is built to flag uncertainty, so the indicative would contradict it.

Quem dera — wistful longing

Quem dera expresses a wish you suspect won't come true — a sigh of longing. It takes the imperfect subjunctive, and unlike tomara que, it often appears without the connector que.

Like tomara, quem dera can stand alone as a wistful "if only!" / "I wish!" The imperfect subjunctive (tivesse, fosse, pudesse) is what marks the wish as unreal — you're naming a world that doesn't exist.

Espero que — the neutral "I hope"

Espero que ("I hope that") is the register-neutral option, equally at home in conversation and writing. It takes the present subjunctive (or a compound subjunctive for completed wishes).

The difference from tomara que is register and warmth: espero que is more measured and works in formal writing, while tomara que is chattier and more emotionally invested. Espero que tenha dado uses the present perfect subjunctive (tenha dado) because the interview is already over — you're hoping about a completed event.

Oxalá — the formal / literary wish

Oxalá (a word of Arabic origin, from in šāʾ Allāh) means "would that / God grant that." In Brazil it's distinctly (formal / literary) — you'll meet it in writing, song lyrics, and elevated speech, but rarely in casual conversation, where tomara que dominates. It takes the present or imperfect subjunctive depending on realism.

Que + subjunctive — the optative blessing

You can launch a wish or blessing straight into the present subjunctive with a bare que. This is the optative — wishes, toasts, well-wishing — and it's very common at celebrations and partings.

This que + subjunctive pattern is the Brazilian equivalent of English "May you...". It's how you bless, toast, and send people off. English speakers find it elegant once they stop searching for a verb to put before it — there isn't one; the bare que does the job.

"Se eu pudesse..." — the dangling wish

A trailing se-clause with the imperfect subjunctive can carry a wish all on its own, the main clause left unspoken. It's the "if only I could..." that drifts off.

The unfinished sentence is the wish — the listener fills in the rest. This overlaps with conditional sentences but functions emotionally as a wish, which is why it lives here too.

Common Mistakes

Key Takeaways

• Wish sentences run on the subjunctive because a wish is about the unreal.
• Tomara que
  • present subjunctive = hopeful, still possible — the everyday "fingers crossed."
• Quem dera
  • imperfect subjunctive = wistful, unlikely or impossible — "if only."
• Espero que is the neutral "I hope" (present subjunctive); oxalá is its formal/literary cousin — recognize it, but speak with tomara que.
• Que
  • present subjunctive forms the optative blessing — the Brazilian "May you...".
• The chosen subjunctive tense signals how realistic the wish is: present = possible, imperfect = unreal.