Once you know that a clause needs the subjunctive, one question remains: which subjunctive tense? Brazilian Portuguese answers this with one of its most regular rules — the sequence of tenses (concordância dos tempos). The tense of the main verb almost mechanically determines the tense of the subjunctive that follows it. Learn the matching, and you'll never again hesitate between venha, viesse, and tenha vindo.
Dial 1: present/future main → present subjunctive
When the main clause is in the present, future, or imperative, a simultaneous or later subjunctive action goes into the present subjunctive.
Eu quero que ele venha.
I want him to come.
Vou pedir que eles cheguem cedo.
I'm going to ask them to arrive early.
Diga a ela que tenha paciência.
Tell her to be patient.
The main verbs quero (present), vou pedir (future), and diga (imperative) all anchor the sentence in the present-or-later zone, so the dependent verb is present subjunctive: venha, cheguem, tenha.
Dial 1: past main → imperfect subjunctive
When the main clause is in any past tense — preterite, imperfect, or the conditional (which behaves like a "past future") — a simultaneous or later subjunctive action goes into the imperfect subjunctive.
Eu queria que ele viesse.
I wanted him to come. / I'd like him to come.
Pedi que eles chegassem cedo.
I asked them to arrive early.
Seria bom que você descansasse um pouco.
It would be good for you to rest a little.
The main verbs queria (imperfect), pedi (preterite), and seria (conditional) all sit in the past zone, pulling the dependent verb into the imperfect subjunctive: viesse, chegassem, descansasse.
Dial 1, third setting: real future condition → future subjunctive
There is a third, distinctively Portuguese setting. When the main clause points to a future result and the dependent clause is introduced by quando (when), se (if), enquanto (while/as long as), or assim que (as soon as), the dependent verb takes the future subjunctive.
Quando você chegar, me liga.
When you get there, call me.
Se eu puder, eu te ajudo amanhã.
If I can, I'll help you tomorrow.
Enquanto houver vida, haverá esperança.
As long as there is life, there will be hope.
Here chegar, puder, houver are future subjunctive. English uses a plain present here ("when you arrive," "if I can"), which is why English speakers reach for the present and produce quando você chega — a real error. Portuguese insists that a not-yet-realized future condition be marked as such.
Dial 2: anteriority — when the subjunctive action came first
So far the subjunctive action has been simultaneous-with or later-than the main verb. But often it happened earlier. To mark that, shift to a compound subjunctive, formed with the subjunctive of ter plus the past participle.
If the main verb is present and the subjunctive action is already complete, use the present perfect subjunctive (pretérito perfeito composto do subjuntivo): tenha + participle.
Espero que ele tenha chegado bem.
I hope he arrived safely. (the arrival is already over)
Que bom que você tenha gostado do presente!
How nice that you liked the gift! (the liking already happened)
If the main verb is past and the subjunctive action happened even earlier, use the pluperfect subjunctive (pretérito mais-que-perfeito do subjuntivo): tivesse + participle.
Eu queria que você tivesse vindo à festa.
I wish you had come to the party. (you didn't — and it's now in the past)
Ela ficou triste por eu não ter ligado, como se eu tivesse esquecido dela.
She was sad that I hadn't called, as if I had forgotten about her.
The full grid
Putting both dials together gives a clean 2×3 table. Read across by main-clause time, down by anteriority of the subjunctive action.
| Anteriority \ Main verb | Present / Future / Imperative | Past (preterite / imperfect / conditional) |
|---|---|---|
| Same time or later | Present subjunctive Quero que ele venha. | Imperfect subjunctive Queria que ele viesse. |
| Earlier (anterior) | Present perfect subjunctive Espero que ele tenha vindo. | Pluperfect subjunctive Queria que ele tivesse vindo. |
| Future condition (after quando/se/enquanto) | Future subjunctive Quando ele vier, avise. | — |
Quero que ele venha.
I want him to come. (present main, action later → present subjunctive)
Queria que ele viesse.
I wanted him to come. (past main, action later → imperfect subjunctive)
Espero que ele tenha vindo.
I hope he came. (present main, action earlier → present perfect subjunctive)
Queria que ele tivesse vindo.
I wish he had come. (past main, action earlier → pluperfect subjunctive)
Why this is good news
Compared to deciding whether a clause needs the subjunctive — which depends on subtle questions of doubt, desire, and existence — choosing which subjunctive tense is mechanical. The main verb tells you almost everything. Internalize the grid and the tense selection becomes automatic, freeing your attention for the harder mood-selection decisions. This regularity is one of the things that makes the Portuguese subjunctive, for all its reputation, far more predictable than learners fear.
English, by contrast, has no real sequence-of-tenses for the subjunctive because it barely has a subjunctive. "I want him to come" and "I wanted him to come" both use the bare infinitive "come" — English shifts only the main verb. Portuguese shifts both, and the shift in the dependent verb is what the grid captures.
Common Mistakes
❌ Eu queria que ele venha.
Incorrect — a past main verb (queria) requires the imperfect subjunctive.
✅ Eu queria que ele viesse.
I wanted him to come.
❌ Eu gostaria que você descansa.
Incorrect — the conditional counts as past, so it needs the imperfect subjunctive.
✅ Eu gostaria que você descansasse.
I would like you to rest.
❌ Quando você chega, me avisa.
Incorrect — a future condition after 'quando' requires the future subjunctive, not the present indicative.
✅ Quando você chegar, me avisa.
When you arrive, let me know.
❌ Espero que ele chegou bem.
Incorrect — an already-completed action under a present main verb needs the present perfect subjunctive.
✅ Espero que ele tenha chegado bem.
I hope he arrived safely.
Key Takeaways
- Present/future/imperative main verb → present subjunctive (venha).
- Past main verb (incl. conditional) → imperfect subjunctive (viesse).
- Future condition after quando / se / enquanto / assim que → future subjunctive (vier, puder, houver).
- If the subjunctive action happened earlier, switch to a compound: present perfect subjunctive (tenha vindo) under a present main verb, pluperfect subjunctive (tivesse vindo) under a past main verb.
- The main verb's tense predicts the subjunctive tense — this is one of the most regular rules in the language.
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Start learning Portuguese→Related Topics
- 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.
- Imperfeito do Subjuntivo: UsageB1 — When to use the imperfect subjunctive in Brazilian Portuguese — hypothetical 'se' clauses, past-tense triggers, 'como se', and softened wishes.
- Futuro do Subjuntivo: UsageA2 — When to use the future subjunctive in Brazilian Portuguese — the obligatory form after 'quando', 'se', 'enquanto', 'assim que' and other time conjunctions pointing to the future.
- Compound Subjunctive Tenses: OverviewB2 — A map of the three compound subjunctive tenses — tenha falado, tivesse falado, tiver falado — built from 'ter' plus a past participle to mark an action completed before the reference point.
- Pretérito Perfeito do SubjuntivoB1 — How to form and use 'tenha falado' — the present subjunctive of 'ter' plus a past participle — to say that something happened before the present moment of hoping, doubting, or judging.
- Pretérito Mais-que-Perfeito do SubjuntivoB1 — How to form and use 'tivesse falado' — the imperfect subjunctive of 'ter' plus a past participle — the tense of past counterfactuals, regret, and hindsight in Brazilian Portuguese.