Most grammar books teach the subjunctive as something that lives in subordinate clauses — after que, after para que, after embora. That is the overwhelming statistical home of the subjunctive, but it is not the only one. Portuguese keeps a small but expressive set of main-clause subjunctives: sentences where the subjunctive is not triggered by a preceding verb or conjunction but stands on its own, carrying a modal meaning — wish, possibility, hypothesis, or concession — right in the main clause.
These main-clause subjunctives are concentrated in a handful of constructions: after oxalá, after quem me dera, after tomara que, after talvez and its cousins, as third-person imperatives with que, and in frozen concessive formulas like seja como for and venha o que vier. Each one is idiomatic and each one is common in everyday speech. Getting them right is a B2-to-C1 skill that makes a huge difference to how natural your Portuguese sounds.
This page approaches them from the complex-sentence angle — when they behave like main clauses with hidden subordination, how they interact with negation, how their register differs. For the verbal morphology and the core list of independent-clause uses, see subjunctive in independent clauses, which is the companion page.
Oxalá: the core wish word
Oxalá comes from the Arabic in shā' Allāh ("God willing") and survives in Portuguese as a pure, unanalysable wish particle. It introduces a subjunctive directly, without que. This is one of the few cases where Portuguese allows a bare subjunctive.
- Oxalá + present subjunctive — a wish for something not yet decided, still possible.
- Oxalá + imperfect subjunctive — a wish about something present or hypothetical, often with a "but it probably won't happen" undertone.
- Oxalá + pluperfect subjunctive — a regret about the past, something that didn't happen.
Oxalá chova amanhã — as plantas precisam.
I hope it rains tomorrow — the plants need it.
Oxalá tenhas razão.
I hope you're right.
Oxalá fosse tão simples.
If only it were that simple.
Oxalá tivesse estudado mais para o exame.
If only I had studied more for the exam.
Oxalá sits somewhere between formal and neutral. It appears freely in conversation, in writing, in songs, in political speeches. It is not colloquial, but it is not stiff either — you can use it anywhere.
Oxalá versus espero que
Espero que (I hope that) is a full subordinating construction and always takes que. Oxalá is lighter, more poetic, and sometimes carries a stronger flavour of wistfulness.
Espero que o comboio não se atrase.
I hope the train isn't delayed.
Oxalá o comboio não se atrase.
I really hope the train isn't delayed.
The second feels slightly more personal, slightly more invested. Overuse of espero que can sound neutral or even bureaucratic; oxalá always carries emotion.
Quem me dera: the counterfactual wish
Quem me dera literally means "who would give me" — a fossilised phrase meaning roughly "I wish." It always takes either an infinitive or the imperfect/pluperfect subjunctive, and it carries the strong feeling that the wish is contrary to fact or unlikely.
Quem me dera ter mais tempo livre.
I wish I had more free time.
Quem me dera que ele entendesse.
I wish he understood.
Quem me dera poder voltar atrás.
If only I could go back.
Quem me dera ter feito essa viagem quando era jovem.
I wish I had taken that trip when I was young.
Note the two patterns: quem me dera + infinitive (when the subject of the wish is the same as the speaker) and quem me dera que + imperfect subjunctive (when the subjects differ). The infinitive pattern is more common in speech.
Quem me dera is neutral register — you'll hear it at the dinner table and read it in literature. It is particularly beloved of Portuguese songwriting.
Tomara: a softer wish
Tomara que is a third wish formula, slightly less literary than oxalá and used almost exclusively with the present subjunctive. In Portugal it is less frequent than oxalá and has a slightly folksier flavour.
Tomara que ele chegue a horas.
Let's hope he arrives on time.
Tomara que não chova no dia do casamento.
Let's hope it doesn't rain on the wedding day.
In Brazilian Portuguese tomara is much more common than oxalá. In European Portuguese it survives but is notably less frequent — it can even sound mildly Brazilian to some speakers. If in doubt, stick with oxalá.
Que + subjunctive: the indirect third-person imperative
Portuguese has no dedicated third-person imperative. To command or authorise something for a third party, you use que + present subjunctive. This is a main-clause subjunctive because there is no expressed subordinator — the que is not linking the clause to anything; it is the construction itself.
Que entre!
Let him come in!
Que tenhas um bom dia!
Have a good day!
Que Deus te acompanhe.
May God be with you.
Que se cumpra a vontade dela.
May her will be done.
Que ninguém me interrompa nos próximos dez minutos.
Let no one interrupt me for the next ten minutes.
This construction covers a lot of ground in English: let him, may they, have a, I hope you. In Portuguese, one pattern handles all of them.
The blessing and the curse
Que + subjunctive is the structure of traditional Portuguese blessings, curses, and toasts. These are often frozen, but they follow the same grammar.
Que descanses em paz.
May you rest in peace.
Que te parta um raio!
May lightning strike you! (a curse)
Que a sorte te sorria!
May fortune smile on you!
Note: you cannot drop the que. Entre! is a valid imperative directed at você, but it reads as a direct order. Que entre! is an indirect wish/permission/order issued to a third party.
Talvez, possivelmente, provavelmente
The adverb talvez (perhaps, maybe) is a trigger for the subjunctive when it precedes the verb. This is probably the most famous main-clause subjunctive in Portuguese, and its behaviour is instructive: the position of talvez matters.
Talvez before the verb: subjunctive
Talvez ele venha mais tarde.
Maybe he'll come later.
Talvez não seja uma boa ideia.
Maybe it's not a good idea.
Talvez tenhas razão.
Maybe you're right.
Talvez tivéssemos feito melhor.
Maybe we would have done better.
Talvez after the verb: indicative
Ele vem talvez mais tarde.
He's coming, maybe later.
Não é uma boa ideia, talvez.
It's not a good idea, maybe.
When talvez follows the verb — or is tacked on at the end — the sentence is back in the indicative, because talvez is no longer structurally dominating the verb. The subjunctive is triggered by talvez being in the pre-verbal slot, which is where adverbs that scope over the verb normally sit.
Possivelmente and provavelmente
Possivelmente (possibly) follows exactly the same rule as talvez: pre-verbal position triggers the subjunctive; post-verbal doesn't.
Possivelmente ainda haja lugares.
There may still be seats.
Ainda há lugares, possivelmente.
There are still seats, possibly.
Provavelmente (probably) is different: because probably implies higher certainty than possibly, it normally takes the indicative even in pre-verbal position.
Provavelmente ele já chegou.
He's probably arrived already.
Provavelmente vai chover.
It'll probably rain.
The logic: the subjunctive marks uncertain or non-real events; once the speaker is probably sure, the indicative takes over. This is a genuine semantic line, not an arbitrary rule.
The frozen concessive formulas
Portuguese has a small family of concessive main-clause subjunctives that translate roughly as "whatever / however / whenever" without a following que. These are idiomatic and mostly fixed — you learn them as units.
Seja como for
Literally "be as it may be" — the core Portuguese way to say "whatever happens, regardless."
Seja como for, vamos sair às seis.
Whatever happens, we're leaving at six.
Seja como for, o Pedro tem razão.
Regardless, Pedro is right.
Custe o que custar
"Whatever it costs" — the Portuguese version of "come what may" or "no matter what."
Custe o que custar, vou acabar esta tese.
No matter what, I'm going to finish this thesis.
Venha o que vier
"Come what may" — more literary, but still heard.
Venha o que vier, estaremos juntos.
Come what may, we'll be together.
Diga-se o que se disser
"Whatever one says" — used to dismiss potential objections.
Diga-se o que se disser, ela foi uma grande escritora.
Whatever people say, she was a great writer.
Seja quem for / seja qual for / seja onde for
A productive template: seja + [interrogative] + for, covering "whoever / whichever / wherever."
Seja quem for que te ligue, diz que não estou.
Whoever calls you, say I'm not here.
Seja qual for a decisão, vou respeitá-la.
Whatever the decision is, I'll respect it.
These are all technically nested clauses (the first seja is the main clause, the second for is subordinate), but they are processed by speakers as frozen units. The pattern is: present subjunctive of ser + WH-word + future subjunctive of ser.
Main-clause subjunctive after exclamative formulas
A thin but living category: main-clause subjunctives after exclamatives.
Quem tivesse / quem pudesse
"If only someone could" / "I wish I could" — quem here is idiomatic, not an actual relative pronoun.
Quem tivesse a sorte dele!
I wish I had his luck!
Quem pudesse estar lá!
If only I could be there!
Se ao menos / se bem que
Se ao menos (if only) introduces a regretful conditional. It always takes the imperfect or pluperfect subjunctive.
Se ao menos tivesses dito alguma coisa!
If only you had said something!
Se ao menos eu soubesse falar japonês.
If only I could speak Japanese.
Main-clause imperfect subjunctive in narration
One less obvious main-clause use: the imperfect subjunctive can stand alone in narrative as a hypothetical past or a softened past wish. This is moderately literary but still alive.
Tivesse ele chegado a tempo, teria visto o desfile.
Had he arrived in time, he would have seen the parade.
Pudesse eu voltar atrás, faria tudo diferente.
Could I go back, I would do everything differently.
Note the inversion: tivesse ele, pudesse eu. This is a literary inversion pattern that replaces the if of a conditional, very similar to English "had he arrived" instead of "if he had arrived."
Register map
| Construction | Register | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| oxalá | neutral | Works in speech and writing; carries emotion |
| quem me dera | neutral to slightly informal | Very frequent in speech |
| tomara | informal, sounds Brazilian | Rare in EP |
| que + subj. | neutral | Third-person imperative; universal |
| talvez / possivelmente | neutral | Subjunctive only when pre-verbal |
| seja como for | neutral | Fixed formula |
| custe o que custar | neutral | Common in speech |
| venha o que vier | literary | Slightly elevated |
| tivesse ele… (inversion) | literary | Found in novels and formal writing |
Common Mistakes
English speakers tend to default to the indicative in places where Portuguese needs the subjunctive, and vice versa. Here are the main pitfalls.
❌ Oxalá ele vem amanhã.
Incorrect — oxalá requires the subjunctive, not the indicative.
✅ Oxalá ele venha amanhã.
I hope he comes tomorrow.
Forgetting the que in third-person wishes:
❌ Tenhas um bom dia!
Incorrect — missing 'que' to introduce the indirect imperative.
✅ Que tenhas um bom dia!
Have a good day!
Using the indicative after pre-verbal talvez:
❌ Talvez ele vai chegar a tempo.
Incorrect — pre-verbal 'talvez' triggers the subjunctive.
✅ Talvez ele chegue a tempo.
Maybe he'll arrive on time.
Mixing up provavelmente (indicative) and possivelmente (subjunctive):
❌ Provavelmente ele venha.
Incorrect — 'provavelmente' takes the indicative.
✅ Provavelmente ele vem.
He'll probably come.
✅ Possivelmente ele venha.
He may come.
Using the wrong subjunctive tense after quem me dera:
❌ Quem me dera que ele venha.
Incorrect — counterfactual wishes take the imperfect subjunctive.
✅ Quem me dera que ele viesse.
I wish he would come.
Key Takeaways
- Oxalá, quem me dera, and tomara que each carry the wish/hope meaning with slightly different flavours.
- Que + subjunctive is the third-person indirect imperative and covers a huge range of English let / may / have.
- Talvez / possivelmente trigger the subjunctive only in pre-verbal position; provavelmente is always indicative.
- The frozen seja como for / custe o que custar / venha o que vier family delivers concessive meaning without a que.
- The inversion tivesse ele / pudesse eu is the literary counterpart of English "had he / could I."
Main-clause subjunctives are where Portuguese sounds most Portuguese. They carry the emotional colour of the language — the regret of quem me dera, the resignation of seja como for, the hope of oxalá. Use them, and your sentences will stop feeling translated and start feeling lived-in.
Related Topics
- Subjunctive in Independent ClausesB2 — Most of what grammar books say about the subjunctive is that it lives inside subordinate clauses. But Portuguese also lets the subjunctive stand alone, without any *que* or matrix verb above it. This is where wishes, blessings, curses, concessions and hypotheticals get their most concentrated form — and it is also where some of the language's oldest and most expressive corners hide.
- Subjunctive Mood OverviewB1 — What the conjuntivo is in European Portuguese, why it exists, and when the language requires it — a tour of irrealis across the present, imperfect, and future subjunctive
- Present Subjunctive OverviewB1 — How the presente do conjuntivo is formed, why it exists, and the five big families of situations that trigger it.
- Subjunctive of Wishes and DesiresB1 — Why querer que, esperar que, desejar que, and similar wish-verbs trigger the present subjunctive, plus the crucial same-subject rule that sends you to an infinitive instead.
- Imperative OverviewA2 — Giving commands and instructions in European Portuguese
- Imperfect Subjunctive for Past-Oriented WishesB2 — How the imperfeito do conjuntivo expresses wishes about the past — realised or not — including oxalá, tomara que, quisera, and the pluperfect subjunctive for regrets about what did not happen.