The imperfect subjunctive (imperfeito do subjuntivo) sounds intimidating, but it hides the cleanest derivation rule in all of Brazilian Portuguese verb morphology. If you know the third-person plural of the preterite — eles falaram, eles comeram, eles foram — you can build the entire imperfect subjunctive of any verb, regular or irregular, with zero exceptions. This page teaches that one rule and shows it working across regular verbs and the trickiest irregulars.
The one rule
Take the eles form of the preterite (the -aram / -eram / -iram form), chop off the final -am, and add the imperfect subjunctive endings:
-sse, -sses, -sse, -ssemos, -ssem
That is the whole system. Because it starts from the preterite, every irregularity that lives in the preterite is automatically inherited — you never have to learn a separate irregular imperfect subjunctive.
| Subject | Ending |
|---|---|
| se eu | -sse |
| se você / ele / ela | -sse |
| se nós | -ssemos (stressed vowel takes a written accent: -ássemos / -êssemos / -íssemos) |
| se vocês / eles / elas | -ssem |
Regular verbs
Watch the rule run on one verb of each conjugation.
falar → preterite eles falaram → stem fala-
| Subject | Form |
|---|---|
| se eu | falasse |
| se você / ele / ela | falasse |
| se nós | falássemos |
| se vocês / eles / elas | falassem |
comer → preterite eles comeram → stem come-: comesse, comesse, comêssemos, comessem.
partir → preterite eles partiram → stem parti-: partisse, partisse, partíssemos, partissem.
Se eu falasse francês, eu morava em Paris.
If I spoke French, I'd live in Paris. (informal result clause)
A professora pediu que a gente comesse antes da aula.
The teacher asked that we eat before class.
Eu queria que você partisse comigo amanhã cedo.
I wanted you to leave with me early tomorrow.
The nós form always carries an accent
The single detail that catches everyone is the nós form. The stress lands on the syllable right before -ssemos, and that stressed vowel always takes a written accent — acute on -ar and -ir verbs, circumflex on -er verbs:
- -ar verbs: falássemos (acute on the a)
- -er verbs: comêssemos (circumflex on the e)
- -ir verbs: partíssemos (acute on the i)
| Conjugation | nós form | Accent |
|---|---|---|
| -ar (falar) | falássemos | á (acute) |
| -er (comer) | comêssemos | ê (circumflex) |
| -ir (partir) | partíssemos | í (acute) |
Seria ótimo se nós falássemos a mesma língua.
It'd be great if we spoke the same language.
Ele queria que comêssemos juntos toda noite.
He wanted us to eat together every night.
Irregular verbs follow the same rule
Here is why this form is so satisfying: there are no special irregular endings. The irregularity is entirely in the preterite stem, which you already have to know. Apply the same chop-and-add procedure and the irregular imperfect subjunctive falls out automatically.
| Infinitive | eles (preterite) | Stem | Imperfect subjunctive (eu / nós / eles) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ser / ir | foram | fo- | fosse / fôssemos / fossem |
| ter | tiveram | tive- | tivesse / tivéssemos / tivessem |
| estar | estiveram | estive- | estivesse / estivéssemos / estivessem |
| fazer | fizeram | fize- | fizesse / fizéssemos / fizessem |
| poder | puderam | pude- | pudesse / pudéssemos / pudessem |
| dar | deram | de- | desse / déssemos / dessem |
| dizer | disseram | disse- | dissesse / disséssemos / dissessem |
| trazer | trouxeram | trouxe- | trouxesse / trouxéssemos / trouxessem |
| vir | vieram | vie- | viesse / viéssemos / viessem |
| querer | quiseram | quise- | quisesse / quiséssemos / quisessem |
Note that ser and ir share one preterite (foram) and therefore share one imperfect subjunctive (fosse). Context tells you which verb is meant: Se eu fosse você ("If I were you" — ser) versus Era natural que ele fosse embora ("It was natural that he leave" — ir).
Se eu fosse você, eu aceitava a proposta.
If I were you, I'd accept the offer. (ser; informal result clause)
Se nós tivéssemos mais tempo, terminávamos hoje.
If we had more time, we'd finish today.
Eu queria que ela fizesse o trabalho com calma.
I wanted her to do the work calmly.
Why this works: the preterite-stem logic
The imperfect subjunctive grew historically out of the same root as the preterite, which is why they share a stem. For the learner, this is a gift: you only have to memorize one set of irregular forms (the preterite), and you get the imperfect subjunctive — and, as the next page shows, the future subjunctive — for free. English has no parallel here. English uses a bare past form ("If I had money," "I wish I were there") with no distinct subjunctive morphology, so there is nothing to chop and rebuild. In Brazilian Portuguese the morphology is explicit, but mercifully regular.
Common Mistakes
❌ Se eu tinhasse mais tempo...
Incorrect — invented stem; 'ter' builds from the preterite 'tiveram'.
✅ Se eu tivesse mais tempo...
If I had more time...
Learners reach for the infinitive or present stem (tinha-). The rule is unforgiving but simple: go to the eles preterite (tiveram) and chop -am to get tive- → tivesse.
❌ Se nós falassemos português melhor...
Incorrect — the nós form needs the acute accent: falássemos.
✅ Se nós falássemos português melhor...
If we spoke Portuguese better...
❌ Eu queria que ele fazesse o jantar.
Incorrect — 'fazer' is irregular in the preterite (fizeram), so the stem is 'fize-'.
✅ Eu queria que ele fizesse o jantar.
I wanted him to make dinner.
❌ Se eu seria rico...
Incorrect — this is the conditional; the 'se' clause needs the imperfect subjunctive.
✅ Se eu fosse rico...
If I were rich...
English "If I would be" maps wrongly onto the conditional. In Portuguese the condition itself takes the imperfect subjunctive (fosse); the conditional goes in the result clause.
❌ Ele pediu que a gente comessemos rápido.
Incorrect — mismatched: 'a gente' takes the third-person 'comesse', not 'comêssemos'.
✅ Ele pediu que a gente comesse rápido.
He asked that we eat fast. (a gente = third-person singular)
Key Takeaways
- Build the imperfect subjunctive from the third-person plural preterite: chop -am, add -sse / -ssemos / -ssem.
- The nós form always carries an accent: falássemos (á), comêssemos (ê), partíssemos (í).
- Irregular verbs need no special endings — their irregular preterite stem (foram → fosse, tiveram → tivesse) does all the work.
- Ser and ir share the form fosse; context disambiguates.
Now practice Portuguese
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Start learning Portuguese→Related Topics
- Imperfeito do Subjuntivo: UsageB1 — When to use the imperfect subjunctive in Brazilian Portuguese — hypothetical 'se' clauses, past-tense triggers, 'como se', and softened wishes.
- Presente do Subjuntivo: Irregular VerbsA2 — The irregular present subjunctive in Brazilian Portuguese — most forms come from the 1sg present indicative, plus six truly suppletive verbs to memorize.
- Futuro do Subjuntivo: FormationA2 — How to build the future subjunctive in Brazilian Portuguese — derived from the third-person plural preterite, and why it looks deceptively like the infinitive.
- 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.
- Contrary-to-Fact Conditionals (Present)B1 — Present hypotheticals in Brazilian Portuguese — se + imperfect subjunctive + conditional (Se eu tivesse dinheiro, compraria), and the colloquial swap of conditional for imperfect indicative (comprava).