One of the most useful things you can do with the personal infinitive in Brazilian Portuguese is use it instead of a subjunctive clause. Where a textbook might insist on para que eu fale (so that I may speak), a Brazilian will very often say para eu falar — same meaning, fewer words, and noticeably more natural in everyday speech. This page shows you when the swap is available, what it does to the register, and where it genuinely is not possible.
This is not a "lazy" shortcut. The personal infinitive is fully standard and appears in newspapers, literature, and formal writing. But it does shift the tone: it sounds clipped and modern, while the subjunctive version sounds more deliberate and, in some contexts, more formal. Knowing both — and when each fits — is a real B2 skill.
The basic swap: para que → para + infinitive
The cleanest case is the conjunction para que (so that), which always takes the subjunctive. In Brazilian Portuguese it can almost always be reduced to para + personal infinitive.
Falei devagar para que eles entendessem.
I spoke slowly so that they would understand. (subjunctive)
Falei devagar para eles entenderem.
I spoke slowly so they'd understand. (personal infinitive)
Both are correct. The subjunctive version (para que... entendessem) is heavier and a touch more formal; the infinitive version (para eles entenderem) is what most Brazilians say in conversation. Notice that the infinitive version drops the que and the subject moves to before the verb.
Deixei a luz acesa para que você não tropeçasse.
I left the light on so you wouldn't trip. (subjunctive)
Deixei a luz acesa para você não tropeçar.
I left the light on so you wouldn't trip. (personal infinitive)
Verbs of asking and ordering: pedir, mandar, dizer
Many verbs of requesting and commanding accept both a que + subjunctive clause and a para + personal infinitive clause. The infinitive version is the more colloquial of the two.
O professor pediu que nós saíssemos da sala.
The teacher asked that we leave the room. (subjunctive, more formal)
O professor pediu para nós sairmos da sala.
The teacher asked us to leave the room. (personal infinitive, more colloquial)
Minha mãe mandou que eles arrumassem o quarto.
My mother ordered that they tidy their room. (subjunctive)
Minha mãe mandou eles arrumarem o quarto.
My mom told them to tidy their room. (personal infinitive)
With mandar (to order/have someone do), the infinitive construction is the dominant one in spoken Brazilian Portuguese; the full subjunctive clause sounds quite formal. See Causative Constructions (Fazer / Mandar) for the causative side of mandar.
Esperar: a clean contrast
The verb esperar (to hope/expect/wait for) is a good place to feel the difference, because it freely takes both structures.
Espero que ele venha à reunião.
I hope he comes to the meeting. (subjunctive)
Espero ele vir à reunião.
I expect him to come to the meeting. (infinitive)
The subjunctive (venha) frames it as a genuine hope or wish about an uncertain event. The infinitive (vir) frames it more as an expectation — closer to "I'm counting on him to come." This subtle drift toward "expectation" rather than "hope" is typical when the infinitive replaces the subjunctive: the infinitive strips out some of the modal coloring that the subjunctive carries.
Esperamos que vocês cheguem cedo.
We hope you arrive early. (subjunctive)
Esperamos vocês chegarem cedo.
We expect you to arrive early. (personal infinitive)
Where the swap does NOT work
The personal infinitive cannot replace every subjunctive. Be honest with yourself about the limits — this is where learners overgeneralize.
1. Verbs of doubt and emotion usually keep the subjunctive. Duvido que ele venha (I doubt he'll come) does not reduce to an infinitive; Tenho medo que ele caia prefers the subjunctive. The infinitive reduction is mainly a feature of purpose clauses and verbs of will/request, not of doubt or emotion.
Duvido que eles cheguem a tempo.
I doubt they'll arrive on time. (no clean infinitive replacement)
2. The impersonal subjunctive often prefers the bare infinitive, not the personal one, when there's no expressed subject. É preciso estudar (one must study) uses a plain infinitive; the personal infinitive only appears when a subject is specified: É preciso eles estudarem.
3. Some conjunctions resist reduction. Embora (although), caso (in case), and a menos que (unless) do not have everyday infinitive equivalents — they keep the subjunctive.
Embora estejam cansados, vão continuar trabalhando.
Although they're tired, they'll keep working. (subjunctive — no infinitive reduction)
Register and the "modern" feel
Why does the infinitive sound more modern? Because it removes the que boundary and the morphological weight of the subjunctive, the sentence reads as a single smooth unit rather than a main clause plus an embedded one. Brazilian Portuguese, especially in speech, has a strong tendency to flatten subordinate clauses this way — the same impulse that leads speakers to avoid the subjunctive in other contexts (see Colloquial Subjunctive Avoidance).
That said, the subjunctive is not old-fashioned or wrong. In formal writing — a legal document, an academic paper, a careful editorial — the que + subjunctive clause is often preferred precisely because it is explicit and unambiguous. The infinitive's economy can occasionally create ambiguity about the subject, and formal registers tend to avoid that.
Common Mistakes
❌ Falei devagar para que eles entenderem.
Incorrect — para que requires the subjunctive (entendessem), not the personal infinitive.
✅ Falei devagar para eles entenderem.
I spoke slowly so they'd understand. (drop the que to use the infinitive)
Here the error is keeping que but also inflecting the infinitive. You pick one structure: para que + subjunctive OR para + personal infinitive. You can't have both.
❌ O professor pediu nós sairmos.
Incorrect — pedir needs para before the infinitive clause.
✅ O professor pediu para nós sairmos.
The teacher asked us to leave.
❌ Minha mãe mandou para eles arrumarem.
Incorrect — mandar takes the subject directly, with no para.
✅ Minha mãe mandou eles arrumarem o quarto.
My mom told them to tidy the room.
❌ Duvido eles chegarem a tempo.
Incorrect — verbs of doubt keep the subjunctive: there's no clean infinitive reduction here.
✅ Duvido que eles cheguem a tempo.
I doubt they'll arrive on time.
❌ Embora eles estarem cansados, continuaram.
Incorrect — embora requires the subjunctive (estejam), not a personal infinitive.
✅ Embora estejam cansados, continuaram.
Although they're tired, they kept going.
The pattern behind these errors is overgeneralizing the reduction. English speakers love the infinitive because it resembles English structure ("asked us to leave," "expect them to come"), so they apply it even where Portuguese still demands the subjunctive. Learn the safe zones — purpose clauses and verbs of will/request — and treat doubt, emotion, and concessive conjunctions as subjunctive territory.
Key Takeaways
- Para que
- subjunctive almost always reduces to para
- personal infinitive in Brazilian Portuguese.
- subjunctive almost always reduces to para
- Verbs of asking and ordering (pedir, mandar, dizer, esperar) accept both; the infinitive is more colloquial.
- Mind the prepositions: pedir takes para; mandar/deixar/fazer take the subject directly.
- The swap does NOT work for doubt, emotion, or concessive conjunctions (embora, caso, a menos que).
- The infinitive sounds modern and clipped; the subjunctive sounds formal and explicit. Choose by register.
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Start learning Portuguese→Related Topics
- The Personal Infinitive: OverviewB1 — Portuguese's signature feature — an infinitive that carries person and number endings, letting infinitive clauses take their own subject.
- Personal Infinitive after PrepositionsB1 — How and when to inflect the infinitive after prepositions like para, sem, antes de, and em vez de when the clause has its own subject.
- Indicative vs Subjunctive: Decision GuideB1 — A practical guide to choosing the indicative or subjunctive in Portuguese using the assertion test, trigger lists, and the negation flip with verbs like achar.
- Subjunctive after Verbs of Desire and WillA2 — Why querer que, pedir que, and other verbs of wanting force the subjunctive — and the English-speaker error to avoid.
- Subjunctive after Impersonal ExpressionsB1 — É importante que, é melhor que, é necessário que and other é + adjective + que frames trigger the subjunctive — unless they assert a fact.
- Colloquial Subjunctive Avoidance (Common Errors)B1 — Why some Brazilian speakers replace the subjunctive with the indicative in casual speech — what you'll hear, why it's stigmatized, and why learners should still use the subjunctive.