Questions with Quando (When) | Portuguese (Portugal) Grammar

To ask about time in Portuguese, you use quando. It is invariable, simple in form, and combines freely with prepositions to produce a whole family of time-related questions: desde quando? (since when?), até quando? (until when?), para quando? (for when?), de quando? (from when?). This flexibility — front a preposition, add quando — covers most of the temporal question-asking you will ever do in PT-PT. And like every other wh-word in European Portuguese, quando receives the signature colloquial reinforcement é que in nearly all spoken questions: Quando é que chegas? Quando é que foi? Quando é que ele volta?

Quando has a second life outside of questions. It is also a subordinating conjunction meaning "when" in statements — Vou quando puder ("I'll go when I can"), Não sei quando chega ("I don't know when he's arriving"). The interrogative and the conjunction are the same word, but they behave differently in the sentence: the interrogative introduces a question, the conjunction introduces an embedded time clause. The distinction matters because in PT-PT, quando used as a conjunction in future contexts triggers the future subjunctive, one of the trickier tenses in the language.

Quando as a simple interrogative

The base form — quando at the start of a question, followed by a conjugated verb — asks for a specific point or period in time.

Quando chegas?

When are you arriving?

Quando foi isso?

When was that?

Quando começam as aulas este ano?

When do classes start this year?

Quando é que ele volta de férias?

When is he coming back from holiday?

Quando é o teu aniversário?

When is your birthday?

Quando é que a Rita se casou?

When did Rita get married?

Across these examples you see the full tense range — present, preterite, future — all compatible with quando. The interrogative itself does not change; the tense is carried by the main verb.

Quando é que — the PT-PT colloquial reinforcement

As with every other wh-word in PT-PT, quando is routinely reinforced with é que in spoken language. The pattern quando é que + verb is what you will hear in most casual conversation.

Quando é que chegas a Lisboa?

When are you arriving in Lisbon?

Quando é que começaste a trabalhar aqui?

When did you start working here?

Quando é que te apetece ir jantar fora?

When do you feel like going out for dinner?

Quando é que isto vai acabar?

When is this going to end?

Quando é que marcaste a consulta?

When did you book the appointment?

The é que is invariable — it stays in the present regardless of the main verb's tense. Quando é que foste ao médico? ("When did you go to the doctor?") keeps é que in the present even though foste is preterite. Think of é que as a single frozen particle that signals "this is a question," not as an active inflected verb.

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If a learner wants to mark a single feature of PT-PT that will immediately make their speech sound native, it is the é que reinforcement in wh-questions. Quando é que chegas? / Onde é que estás? / O que é que fazes? — the pattern is so pervasive that omitting it can make a speaker sound unnaturally formal or stilted in everyday conversation.

Prepositions + quando

Just as with quem and onde, PT-PT allows prepositions to combine with quando to produce more specific temporal questions. And as always, the preposition must be fronted — PT-PT does not permit preposition stranding. English since when? → PT-PT desde quando?; English until when? → PT-PT até quando?.

Desde quando — "since when?"

Asks for the starting point of an ongoing situation.

Desde quando é que moras aqui?

How long have you lived here? (literally: since when...)

Desde quando é que estás à minha espera?

How long have you been waiting for me?

Desde quando é que ele sabe disto?

How long has he known about this?

In English, this question is usually phrased with how long rather than since when in casual conversation, but PT-PT uses desde quando more freely — the time-starting-point reading is natural in everyday speech.

Até quando — "until when?"

Asks for the endpoint of a situation.

Até quando é que ficas em Lisboa?

Until when are you staying in Lisbon? / How long are you staying?

Até quando é que isto pode esperar?

How long can this wait?

Até quando é que a loja está aberta hoje?

Until when is the shop open today?

Para quando — "for when?"

Asks for the target date of something being scheduled or prepared.

Para quando é que marcaste o jantar?

What date did you book the dinner for?

Para quando é que isto tem de estar pronto?

By when does this have to be ready?

Para quando é o casamento?

When's the wedding? (literally: for when is the wedding?)

This pattern is especially common when asking about appointments, deadlines, and scheduled events. Para quando? has a slightly more planning-oriented flavour than simple Quando?.

De quando — "of when? / from when?"

Asks for the date or era of something — typically used for objects, documents, or news items.

De quando é esta fotografia?

When is this photo from? / What date is this photo?

De quando é essa notícia?

When is that news from? / How old is that news?

De quando é o documento mais antigo que tens?

How old is the oldest document you have?

A quick reference

Form	Meaning	Example
quando	when?	Quando chegas?
desde quando	since when? / how long?	Desde quando é que moras aqui?
até quando	until when? / how long?	Até quando é que ficas?
para quando	for when? / by when?	Para quando é o casamento?
de quando	from when? / of what date?	De quando é essa fotografia?

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Two of these patterns — desde quando and até quando — are the PT-PT equivalents of English "how long...?" in many contexts. If you are trying to say "how long have you been waiting?", the natural PT-PT phrasing is Desde quando estás à espera? — not a word-by-word translation of "how long."

Quando as a subordinating conjunction

Quando has a second, equally important life as a subordinating conjunction — it introduces embedded clauses that express time. In this use, quando is not asking a question; it is linking a main clause to a subordinate clause.

Quando in statements — "when" (indicative for past and present)

When the time reference is past or present (and the event is real or habitual), quando takes the indicative:

Quando eu era pequeno, morávamos no Porto.

When I was little, we lived in Porto. (habitual past → imperfect indicative)

Fui ao médico quando comecei a sentir-me mal.

I went to the doctor when I started feeling ill. (punctual past → preterite)

Quando chove, fica tudo alagado.

When it rains, everything gets flooded. (generic / habitual → present indicative)

Quando with future reference — the future subjunctive

Here PT-PT diverges dramatically from English. In English, when with future reference takes the present indicative: When he arrives, tell him... In PT-PT, future time clauses require the future subjunctive (a tense that most learners first meet in exactly this context).

Quando ele chegar, avisa-me.

When he arrives, let me know. (chegar = future subjunctive, 3rd person singular)

Quando tiveres tempo, liga-me.

When you have time, call me. (tiveres = future subjunctive)

Quando acabarmos o projeto, vamos jantar fora para celebrar.

When we finish the project, we'll go out for dinner to celebrate. (acabarmos = future subjunctive)

Quando puder, vou visitar-te.

When I can, I'll come visit you. (puder = future subjunctive)

This is one of the most systematic differences between English and Portuguese. Any time you are about to say "when [future event happens]..." in Portuguese, the when-clause takes the future subjunctive, not the present. See the future subjunctive for the full paradigm and the other triggers that require it.

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The rule of thumb: quando + future → future subjunctive; quando + past/present → indicative. This is one of the few places where English speakers have to build a habit that does not come naturally from their native language. Start drilling quando chegar, quando puder, quando tiver tempo as fixed phrases — they will soon become second nature.

Quando in indirect questions

When quando introduces an embedded question (inside verbs like saber, perguntar, dizer, descobrir), the tense rules follow the same logic as direct questions: use the indicative for past and present, the future subjunctive for "when" + future event.

Não sei quando ele chega.

I don't know when he's arriving. (present indicative — known schedule)

Não sei quando ele chegará.

I don't know when he'll arrive. (future indicative — prediction)

Diz-me quando quiseres conversar.

Tell me when you want to talk. (future subjunctive — 'whenever, when the time comes')

Pergunta-lhe quando é que ele pode vir ter connosco.

Ask him when he can meet up with us.

Note that embedded questions do not take a question mark, but the word quando plays the same interrogative role as in direct questions.

Typical time expressions in the answer

Knowing how to ask quando? is half the battle; knowing the typical answers will help you predict how PT-PT organises time references. Some of the common answers you will hear:

hoje (today), amanhã (tomorrow), ontem (yesterday), depois de amanhã (the day after tomorrow), anteontem (the day before yesterday)
em breve (soon), daqui a pouco (in a little while), daqui a uma semana (in a week)
há dois dias (two days ago), há uma semana (a week ago)
no próximo fim-de-semana (next weekend), na próxima segunda-feira (next Monday)
durante o verão (during the summer), no Natal (at Christmas), no Verão passado (last summer)
às três da tarde (at three in the afternoon), ao meio-dia (at noon)

— Quando é que chega? — Daqui a dez minutos.

— When does it arrive? — In ten minutes.

— Quando é que voltas? — Na próxima sexta-feira.

— When are you coming back? — Next Friday.

See adverbs of time for a deeper treatment of the time-adverb system.

Comparison with English

The quando system is roughly parallel to English when, but with two significant differences:

No preposition stranding: English lets you say When did you come back from? with the preposition trailing (though this is awkward). PT-PT requires De quando é...? or a rephrase. Generally English lets preposition + when sit at the front (Since when? Until when? By when?), so this is less painful than with who and where.
Future subjunctive after quando: English uses present indicative after when with future reference (when he arrives, not when he will arrive). PT-PT requires the future subjunctive (quando ele chegar) — this is obligatory, not a stylistic choice.

English	PT-PT
When are you coming?	Quando é que vens? / Quando vens?
Since when?	Desde quando?
Until when?	Até quando?
By when?	Para quando?
When you have time, call me.	Quando tiveres tempo, liga-me. (future subjunctive)
When I was little...	Quando eu era pequeno... (imperfect indicative)
I don't know when he'll arrive.	Não sei quando ele chegará. / Não sei quando ele chega.

Common mistakes

❌ Quando vens quando?

Using *quando* twice — once at the start, once at the end — is not a PT-PT pattern. Use *quando* once, at the start, or the *quando é que* reinforcement.

✅ Quando é que vens?

When are you coming?

❌ Quando ele chega, diz-me.

With future reference, PT-PT uses the future subjunctive (*chegar*), not the present indicative. This is one of the most common English-speaker errors in Portuguese.

✅ Quando ele chegar, diz-me.

When he arrives, let me know.

❌ Desde quando que moras aqui?

Inserting *que* between *desde quando* and the verb is ungrammatical. Use either *desde quando moras* or the reinforced *desde quando é que moras*.

✅ Desde quando é que moras aqui?

How long have you lived here?

❌ Quando é a fotografia?

For 'when is this photo from?' use *de quando* — the *de* marks origin or era. *Quando é* on its own asks about a scheduled time.

✅ De quando é esta fotografia?

When is this photo from?

❌ Quando voltarás, falamos.

In subordinate time clauses with future reference, PT-PT uses the future subjunctive (*voltares*), not the future indicative (*voltarás*).

✅ Quando voltares, falamos.

When you come back, we'll talk.

Key takeaways

Quando is invariable and asks about time. It can be used alone (Quando chegas?) or with prepositions (desde quando, até quando, para quando, de quando).
Like every PT-PT wh-word, quando is routinely reinforced with é que in speech: Quando é que chegas? Desde quando é que moras aqui?
Preposition + quando is always fronted — PT-PT never strands prepositions. Desde quando? is the only order, never quando desde?.
Quando also functions as a subordinating conjunction in statements. With past or present reference it takes the indicative; with future reference it takes the future subjunctive (quando chegar, quando puder, quando tiver tempo).
In indirect questions, quando follows the same tense logic: indicative for past and present, future subjunctive for "when the time comes" readings.
Each preposition + quando combination corresponds to a specific type of time question: desde quando = since when, até quando = until when, para quando = for when, de quando = of what era.