Coordination links equals; subordination does the opposite — it embeds one clause inside another, where the embedded clause plays a grammatical role (subject, object, modifier) for the main clause. Eu sei [que ela chegou] — the bracketed clause is the object of sei. Subordination is how Brazilian Portuguese builds genuinely complex sentences, and almost every subordinate clause in the language belongs to one of just three types. This page maps out those three types, the finite/non-finite split that cuts across them, and the one tool BR has that English completely lacks: the personal infinitive.
The three types of subordinate clause
Every subordinate clause does the job of some part of speech. That gives us three families:
| Type | Does the job of a… | Typical introducer | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noun (substantive) clause | noun (subject/object) | que, se | Quero que você venha. |
| Relative (adjective) clause | adjective (modifies a noun) | que, o qual, cujo, onde | o livro que comprei |
| Adverbial clause | adverb (modifies the verb/clause) | quando, porque, se, embora… | Quando chegar, me avisa. |
The trick to identifying a subordinate clause is to ask what role it plays. If you could replace it with a noun, it's a noun clause; with an adjective, a relative clause; with an adverb, an adverbial clause.
Noun clauses
A noun clause fills a slot that a noun could fill — the subject or, far more often, the object of the main verb. They are usually introduced by que ("that") or, for indirect questions, se ("whether/if").
Quero que você venha à festa.
I want you to come to the party. (Object of 'quero'.)
É óbvio que ele mentiu.
It's obvious that he lied. (Subject of 'é óbvio'.)
Não sei se ela vem.
I don't know whether she's coming. (Indirect question with 'se'.)
Noun clauses are where the subjunctive vs. indicative choice plays out, driven by the main verb — the dedicated complement-clauses page covers this in depth.
Relative clauses
A relative clause modifies a noun, just like an adjective. It is introduced by a relative pronoun — most often que, but also o qual / a qual, the possessive cujo, or onde for places.
O livro que comprei ontem é ótimo.
The book that I bought yesterday is great.
Aquele é o professor cujo filho estuda comigo.
That's the teacher whose son studies with me. ('Cujo' = whose.)
A cidade onde nasci fica no interior.
The town where I was born is in the countryside.
Adverbial clauses
An adverbial clause modifies the whole main clause, telling when, why, if, although, so that, and so on. Each meaning has its own conjunction.
Quando chegar em casa, me liga.
When you get home, call me.
Não saí porque estava chovendo.
I didn't go out because it was raining.
Embora estivesse cansado, ele terminou o trabalho.
Although he was tired, he finished the work. (Concessive — note the subjunctive after 'embora'.)
Finite vs. non-finite subordination
Cutting across all three types is a second distinction: is the subordinate verb finite (conjugated for a tense and person — que ela venha) or non-finite (an infinitive, gerund, or participle, with no tense)?
| Form | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Finite | Quero que você saia. | I want you to leave. |
| Infinitive | Quero sair. | I want to leave. |
| Gerund | Saí correndo. | I left running. |
| Participle | Terminada a reunião, saímos. | The meeting (being) over, we left. |
A major BR pattern: when the main clause and the subordinate clause share the same subject, BR drops the finite que-clause and uses a bare infinitive instead. Quero sair (same subject — no que) versus Quero que você saia (different subjects — finite subjunctive). English does something similar (I want to leave vs. I want you to leave), so this contrast feels natural.
Espero chegar cedo.
I hope to arrive early. (Same subject — infinitive.)
Espero que você chegue cedo.
I hope you arrive early. (Different subject — finite subjunctive.)
The personal infinitive: BR's unique tool
Here is the construction English speakers find genuinely surprising. Portuguese has a personal (inflected) infinitive — an infinitive that carries person endings. Where most languages have a single, frozen infinitive, BR can mark who the infinitive's subject is, letting a non-finite clause have its own overt subject.
É importante eles virem amanhã.
It's important for them to come tomorrow. ('virem' = personal infinitive, 3rd person plural.)
O chefe mandou a gente terminar o relatório até sexta.
The boss told us to finish the report by Friday.
Para irmos juntos, precisamos sair agora.
For us to go together, we need to leave now. ('irmos' = personal infinitive, 1st person plural.)
The personal infinitive endings attach to the infinitive: -mos (nós), -em (eles/vocês), -es (tu), with the bare infinitive serving for eu and ele/ela. So vir → eu vir, ele vir, nós virmos, eles virem. This lets BR express "for them to come" as a single compact non-finite clause (eles virem) rather than spinning up a full que-clause with a conjugated verb.
How subordination builds complexity
Because subordinate clauses can themselves contain more subordinate clauses, you stack them to build dense, precise sentences — the backbone of formal and academic BR. The skill is recognizing each layer and what type it is.
Ela disse que o relatório que você mandou chegou quando a reunião já tinha começado.
She said that the report you sent arrived when the meeting had already started.
Parsed: Ela disse + noun clause [que o relatório … chegou …], which itself contains a relative clause [que você mandou] modifying relatório, plus an adverbial clause [quando a reunião já tinha começado]. Three subordinate clauses, three different types, one sentence.
Common Mistakes
❌ Quero que eu saio cedo.
Incorrect — same-subject 'want' shouldn't use a finite 'que'-clause; and 'saio' is indicative, not subjunctive.
✅ Quero sair cedo.
I want to leave early. (Same subject → bare infinitive, no 'que'.)
When the main and subordinate subjects are the same, use the infinitive, not a que-clause. English transfer (I want that I leave) is the source of this error.
❌ É importante eles vir amanhã.
Incorrect — with a plural subject the personal infinitive must inflect: 'virem', not bare 'vir'.
✅ É importante eles virem amanhã.
It's important for them to come tomorrow. (Personal infinitive '-em'.)
When an infinitive has its own overt subject, inflect it — that is exactly what the personal infinitive is for.
❌ O homem que o filho dele estuda comigo é professor.
Clumsy — using a resumptive 'dele' where BR has the possessive relative 'cujo'.
✅ O homem cujo filho estuda comigo é professor.
The man whose son studies with me is a teacher. (Possessive relative 'cujo'.)
For "whose," BR has the dedicated relative cujo; don't paraphrase it with que… dele in careful register.
❌ Embora ele estava cansado, terminou o trabalho.
Incorrect — concessive 'embora' requires the subjunctive, not the indicative 'estava'.
✅ Embora estivesse cansado, terminou o trabalho.
Although he was tired, he finished the work. (Subjunctive 'estivesse' after 'embora'.)
Each adverbial conjunction carries its own mood requirement; embora always takes the subjunctive.
Key Takeaways
- Subordination embeds a clause as a part of speech: noun, relative (adjective), or adverbial.
- Identify the type by the role it plays — that role predicts mood, agreement, and which conjunction is used.
- Same subject → infinitive (quero sair); different subject → finite que-clause (quero que você saia).
- BR's personal infinitive inflects for person (virem, irmos), letting a non-finite clause carry its own subject — a tool English lacks.
- Stacking subordinate clauses of different types is how BR builds complex, precise sentences.
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Start learning Portuguese→Related Topics
- Complement ClausesB1 — How 'que' and 'se' complement clauses work as subjects and objects in Brazilian Portuguese, and how the matrix verb decides between indicative, subjunctive, and a bare infinitive.
- 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.
- Relative Clause SyntaxB1 — The structure of Brazilian Portuguese relative clauses — que, quem, o qual, cujo, onde — and the major split between standard pied-piping and the spoken-BR resumptive/dropping strategies.
- Coordination StructuresA2 — How Brazilian Portuguese links equals — words, phrases, and clauses — with copulative, adversative, disjunctive, conclusive, and explicative conjunctions, plus comma rules and ellipsis in coordination.
- Conjunctions: OverviewA2 — How Brazilian Portuguese conjunctions split into coordinating and subordinating types, what they join, and how the subordinating ones control verb mood.