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.
É estranho que ele não tenha avisado ninguém.
It's strange that he didn't warn anyone.
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 verdade que ela está aqui desde cedo.
It's true that she's been here since early.
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.
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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.
- 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.