Brazilian Portuguese builds a huge family of subjunctive triggers out of one simple frame: é + adjective/noun + que. É importante que você estude — "It's important that you study." These impersonal expressions evaluate, recommend, judge necessary, or predict — and all of those are non-factual stances, so they pull the subjunctive. The single most useful skill on this page is learning to tell them apart from the lookalike expressions that assert a fact (é certo que, é verdade que), which take the indicative instead.
The frame: é + [adjective or noun] + que + [subjunctive]
These are called impersonal because there's no real subject — the é refers to nothing in particular. The construction wraps a value judgment or prediction around a clause.
É importante que você estude um pouco todos os dias.
It's important that you study a little every day.
É melhor que a gente vá agora, antes do trânsito.
It's better that we go now, before the traffic.
É necessário que todos assinem o documento.
It's necessary that everyone sign the document.
In English the verb after these is often a bare form ("that everyone sign," "that you study") — a fossilized English subjunctive that many speakers no longer feel. Portuguese, by contrast, uses a fully alive subjunctive with distinct endings (estude, vá, assinem).
Why these trigger the subjunctive
Every expression in this family does one of two things to a clause: it evaluates it (good, bad, important, strange) or it projects it (necessary, possible, likely, advisable). Neither move asserts that the clause is true. É importante que você estude doesn't tell you that you study — it tells you that your studying should happen or would be good. The clause is held at arm's length as a recommendation or a possibility, and the subjunctive marks that distance.
This connects directly to the emotion and doubt triggers: in all three families the que-clause is something other than a flat assertion of fact. That's the unifying thread of the entire subjunctive system.
The trigger inventory
| Expression | Meaning | Function |
|---|---|---|
| é importante que | it's important that | evaluation |
| é necessário / preciso que | it's necessary that | necessity |
| é fundamental que | it's essential that | necessity |
| é melhor que | it's better that | evaluation |
| é bom que | it's good that | evaluation |
| é possível que | it's possible that | prediction |
| é provável que | it's likely that | prediction |
| é improvável que | it's unlikely that | prediction |
| é raro que | it's rare that | evaluation |
| é incrível que | it's incredible that | evaluation |
| é estranho que | it's strange that | evaluation |
| basta que | it's enough that / one only has to | condition |
| convém que | it's advisable that | recommendation (formal) |
É provável que chova à tarde, então leve um guarda-chuva.
It's likely to rain in the afternoon, so take an umbrella.
Basta que você me avise com um dia de antecedência.
It's enough that you let me know a day in advance.
Convém que enviemos a resposta ainda hoje.
It's advisable that we send the reply today.
That last example is formal: convém que belongs to careful writing and official register. In everyday speech you'd more likely hear é melhor a gente mandar hoje or é bom que a gente mande hoje.
The contrast that matters most: certainty takes the indicative
A separate set of impersonal expressions asserts that the clause is true. These take the indicative, and confusing them with the subjunctive family is the central skill to master.
É certo que ele vem amanhã.
It's certain he's coming tomorrow.
É óbvio que você tem razão.
It's obvious you're right.
É certo, é verdade, é óbvio, está claro, é evidente all commit to the truth of the clause, so they take the indicative (vem, está, tem). Compare the minimal pair:
É possível que ela venha.
It's possible she'll come. (subjunctive — uncertain)
É verdade que ela vem.
It's true she's coming. (indicative — asserted as fact)
The whole choice rides on one word — possível versus verdade — because one entertains the event and the other asserts it. And just as on the doubt page, negating a certainty expression flips it to the subjunctive: não é verdade que ela venha (subjunctive), because denying the truth lands you back in non-assertion.
Dropping the subject: impersonal + infinitive
When there's no specific subject — a general recommendation to everyone — Portuguese often skips que entirely and uses a plain infinitive, just as English does ("it's important to study").
É importante estudar todos os dias.
It's important to study every day. (general, no specific subject)
Compare é importante que você estude (specific "you" → que + subjunctive) with é importante estudar (no subject → infinitive). When you name who should do it, use que + subjunctive; when the advice is universal, the infinitive is cleaner.
Common Mistakes
1. Using the indicative after an evaluating expression. English's "it's important that you study" gives no clear cue.
❌ É importante que você estuda.
Incorrect — é importante que triggers the subjunctive estude.
✅ É importante que você estude.
It's important that you study.
2. Using the subjunctive after a certainty expression. Overgeneralizing the trigger.
❌ É verdade que ele venha amanhã.
Incorrect — é verdade asserts a fact, so use the indicative vem.
✅ É verdade que ele vem amanhã.
It's true he's coming tomorrow.
3. Confusing é possível que (subjunctive) with é certo que (indicative).
❌ É possível que ele vem.
Incorrect — possibility is uncertain, so use the subjunctive venha.
✅ É possível que ele venha.
It's possible he'll come.
4. Keeping the indicative after negating a certainty expression.
❌ Não é verdade que ele está doente.
Incorrect — negating the truth creates doubt: use esteja.
✅ Não é verdade que ele esteja doente.
It's not true that he's sick.
5. Forcing que + subjunctive when there's no specific subject. For universal advice, the infinitive is more natural.
❌ É melhor que se chegue cedo.
Awkward/overformal — for general advice, prefer the infinitive.
✅ É melhor chegar cedo.
It's better to arrive early.
Key Takeaways
- The frame é + adjective/noun + que triggers the subjunctive when it evaluates, recommends, or predicts.
- The test: does the speaker assert the clause as fact (indicative) or judge/project it (subjunctive)?
- Certainty expressions — é certo, é verdade, é óbvio, é evidente, está claro — take the indicative.
- Negating a certainty expression flips it to the subjunctive: não é verdade que ele esteja....
- With no specific subject, drop que and use the infinitive: é importante estudar.
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.
- Subjunctive after Verbs of Doubt and NegationB1 — Doubt, denial, and negated belief trigger the subjunctive — and the polarity flip that turns acho que into não acho que.
- Subjunctive after Verbs of EmotionB1 — Expressions of feeling — fico feliz que, tenho medo que, é uma pena que — trigger the subjunctive even about real facts.
- Subjunctive vs Indicative: Side-by-SideB1 — Minimal pairs where switching between the subjunctive and the indicative changes the meaning of the sentence, not just its register.
- 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.