This page pulls together everything the Sentences curriculum has covered so far: how to build a statement, how to ask a question, how to issue a command, how to exclaim, and how to set up a condition. For each type, we'll recap the basic pattern, highlight the PT-PT-specific features (the é que frame, enclisis, pois não? tags, oxalá wishes, the future subjunctive in se-clauses), and show where learners most often slip. At the end, a mixed set of ten sentences is offered as a self-test so you can classify each and check your reasoning.
Think of this page as a map to consult whenever you're unsure which structure you need. Everything is cross-linked back to the detailed pages for each type.
The five functional types
Portuguese grammarians classify sentences by communicative function. Every sentence you produce is doing one of these five jobs — sometimes two at once.
| Type | Portuguese | Function | Typical marker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Declarative | frase declarativa | makes a statement | period; falling intonation |
| Interrogative | frase interrogativa | asks a question | question mark; rising intonation |
| Imperative | frase imperativa | issues a command or request | imperative verb form |
| Exclamatory | frase exclamativa | expresses emotion | exclamation mark |
| Conditional | frase condicional | sets a condition | se + clause structure |
The first four are the traditional four types. Conditional is a structural category that sits inside declarative sentences, but it's so distinctive in Portuguese — because of the mandatory future subjunctive — that we treat it as a fifth category for pedagogical purposes.
Declarative sentences
A declarative sentence states that something is (or is not) the case. It's the default sentence shape of the language.
Structure: Subject (optional, often dropped) + verb + object/complement, with SVO as the neutral order.
O comboio para o Porto sai às oito.
The train to Porto leaves at eight.
Não tenho tempo para o pequeno-almoço hoje.
I don't have time for breakfast today.
A minha filha estuda engenharia em Coimbra.
My daughter studies engineering in Coimbra.
PT-PT points to remember:
- Pro-drop is the norm. Falo português (not Eu falo português) is the default. Keep eu in only when contrasting or emphasising.
- Negation is just não before the verb. No auxiliary, no do-support. Não gosto de café — never Eu não faço gostar de café.
- Object pronouns attach to the verb as clitics. By default in EP they go after the verb, connected by a hyphen: vi-o ontem ("I saw him yesterday"). This enclisis is one of the sharpest dividing lines between EP and BR, where proclisis (o vi) is preferred.
Interrogative sentences
An interrogative sentence asks a question. Portuguese has four main interrogative types, all with PT-PT twists that English speakers tend to overlook.
Yes/no questions
The biggest thing to internalise: Portuguese does not invert the subject and verb. A yes/no question has the same word order as the equivalent statement — only the intonation (and the question mark) change.
Tu queres uma bica?
Do you want an espresso?
Eles já chegaram?
Have they arrived yet?
Native PT-PT speakers very often scaffold the question with é que for emphasis or naturalness:
Onde é que puseste as chaves?
Where did you put the keys?
Quando é que vocês partem para o Algarve?
When are you leaving for the Algarve?
The é que frame is more common in wh-questions than in yes/no questions, but it is grammatically available in both. It adds no new meaning — it's a native reflex of conversational EP.
Wh-questions
A wh-question opens with a question word (quem, que, qual, onde, quando, como, quanto, porque) and either continues compactly or expands with é que.
Quem é que te disse isso?
Who told you that?
Porque não vieste ao almoço?
Why didn't you come to lunch?
Tag questions
A tag question is a statement with a short confirmation-seeking phrase at the end. PT-PT has one signature tag worth noting: pois não?, used after a negative statement.
Tu és da Madeira, não é?
You're from Madeira, right?
Ela não gosta de tosta mista, pois não?
She doesn't like tosta mista, does she?
Unlike English, Portuguese tags don't have to agree with the main clause — não é? works after almost any statement.
Indirect questions
An indirect question is embedded inside a larger declarative. The sentence as a whole is a statement — it ends in a period, not a question mark — and the embedded clause uses statement word order.
Ela perguntou onde eu morava.
She asked where I lived.
Não sei se ele vem hoje.
I don't know if he's coming today.
Yes/no questions take se when embedded (se ele vem), while wh-questions keep their question word (onde, quando, como). See Indirect Questions.
Imperative sentences
An imperative gives a command, an instruction, or a request. Which form you pick depends on who you're addressing.
| Addressee | Affirmative | Negative | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| tu | Fala! | Não fales! | informal |
| você / o senhor | Fale! | Não fale! | neutral/formal |
| vocês | Falem! | Não falem! | plural |
| nós ("let's…") | Falemos! | Não falemos! | suggestion including speaker |
The tu affirmative uses the same form as the third-person singular present indicative (fala, come, parte). Every other imperative form — and all negative imperatives, including tu — uses the present subjunctive.
Come a sopa antes que arrefeça!
Eat the soup before it gets cold!
Não te preocupes, eu trato disso.
Don't worry, I'll take care of it.
Tragam mais pão, por favor.
Bring more bread, please.
Clitics with imperatives
In affirmative imperatives, the clitic sits after the verb with a hyphen. In negative imperatives, it jumps to before the verb.
Diz-me a verdade.
Tell me the truth.
Não me digas mentiras.
Don't tell me lies.
This flip is systematic — negation always triggers proclisis.
Exclamatory sentences
An exclamatory sentence expresses emotion: surprise, admiration, frustration, delight. The most productive pattern in Portuguese opens with que, which is used for both "what a…" and "how…" (English splits these; Portuguese doesn't).
Que casa linda!
What a beautiful house!
Que chato!
How annoying!
Como ele canta bem!
How well he sings!
Quanto barulho nesta rua!
What a lot of noise on this street!
Note the absence of an indefinite article: Que casa!, never Que uma casa!. And unlike Spanish, Portuguese uses only one exclamation mark, at the end.
Wish sentences
A wish sentence is a sub-type of exclamative that expresses yearning. The workhorse particle is oxalá — from Arabic wa šā' llāh, "may God will it" — which takes the subjunctive directly, with no que.
Oxalá não chova amanhã.
I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow.
Oxalá tivesses vindo ao concerto!
I wish you had come to the concert!
The tense of the subjunctive after oxalá maps onto how likely or how past the wished-for event is. A close cousin is quem me dera — literally "who would give me" — used for wistful counterfactuals.
Quem me dera ter mais tempo!
If only I had more time!
See Wish Sentences for the full paradigm.
Conditional sentences
Conditional sentences link a condition (se X) to a consequence (então Y). Portuguese sorts them into three main types by reality — and has one rule that trips up nearly every learner.
| Type | Reality | Se-clause | Main clause | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (future) | possible | future subjunctive | present / future / imperative | Se tiver tempo, vou. |
| 1 (general) | habitual | present indicative | present indicative | Se chove, não saio. |
| 2 | hypothetical | imperfect subjunctive | conditional | Se tivesse tempo, iria. |
| 3 | counterfactual past | pluperfect subjunctive | conditional perfect | Se tivesse tido tempo, teria ido. |
The defining PT-PT rule: use the future subjunctive in se-clauses referring to the future, never the present indicative.
Se puderes, telefona-me hoje à noite.
If you can, give me a call tonight.
Se tiveres fome, há pastéis de nata na cozinha.
If you're hungry, there are pastéis de nata in the kitchen.
Se soubesses o que ele me disse, não acreditavas.
If you knew what he told me, you wouldn't believe it.
English speakers want to reach for the present indicative here (Se tens fome) because that's how English ("If you are hungry") and Spanish in its colloquial form (Si tienes hambre) both work. In Portuguese, the future subjunctive is not optional in future se-clauses — it's the rule.
Decision flowchart: which type do I need?
When you're about to build a sentence, run through this:
- Asking for information? → interrogative. Yes/no → statement word order + rising intonation, optionally é que. Wh → front a question word, optionally é que. Embedded in a larger statement → indirect question with se (yes/no) or wh-word.
- Telling someone to do something? → imperative. Match the form to the addressee (tu, você, vocês). Soften with por favor or rephrase as a polite question.
- Expressing emotion? → exclamatory with que, como, quanto, or an interjection. If it's a wish → oxalá
- subjunctive or quem me dera.
- Setting up a condition? → conditional. Pick Type 1, 2, or 3 by reality. Future subjunctive in future real conditions.
- Otherwise → declarative. SVO, pro-drop, enclisis unless a trigger forces proclisis.
Ten mixed examples — can you name the type?
Read each sentence, identify the type, and check the explanation below.
A Ana é médica num hospital de Lisboa.
Ana is a doctor at a hospital in Lisbon.
Onde é que deixaste o carro?
Where did you leave the car?
Não te esqueças do guarda-chuva!
Don't forget the umbrella!
Que paisagem magnífica!
What a magnificent landscape!
Se o comboio se atrasar, apanhamos o autocarro.
If the train is late, we'll take the bus.
Tu és o irmão do Pedro, não és?
You're Pedro's brother, aren't you?
Oxalá consiga chegar a tempo.
I hope I manage to get there on time.
Ela perguntou-me se eu queria um galão.
She asked me if I wanted a galão.
Traz-me um pastel de nata, se faz favor.
Bring me a pastel de nata, please.
Se tivesse sabido, teria vindo mais cedo.
If I had known, I would have come earlier.
Answers, in order:
- Declarative — a simple statement with ser for profession.
- Interrogative (wh-) — onde
- é que frame, typical PT-PT colloquial shape.
- Imperative (negative, tu) — negative commands use the present subjunctive; note the clitic te is proclitic because of não.
- Exclamatory — Que
- Conditional (Type 1, future) — se
- future subjunctive atrasar, main clause in present indicative apanhamos. Classic PT-PT Type 1.
- Interrogative (tag) — declarative core with não és? tacked on. The tag echoes the verb (és), which is one valid variant alongside the invariable não é?.
- Wish — oxalá
- present subjunctive consiga. No que, as always.
- Indirect question — declarative as a whole; embedded yes/no question introduced by se, with statement word order.
- Imperative (affirmative, tu) — traz is the irregular tu imperative of trazer; the clitic me attaches with a hyphen. Se faz favor softens the request.
- Conditional (Type 3, counterfactual) — pluperfect subjunctive tivesse sabido
- conditional perfect teria vindo.
If you named eight or more correctly, you've internalised the system.
Common mistakes
❌ Onde vives tu?
Incorrect — inverted word order copied from English.
✅ Onde é que tu vives? / Onde vives?
Where do you live?
English speakers reflexively invert subject and verb in questions. Portuguese either keeps statement order compactly (Onde vives?) or inserts é que (Onde é que vives?) — never the English-style inversion pattern.
❌ Se tens tempo, vem jantar.
Incorrect — present indicative in a future se-clause.
✅ Se tiveres tempo, vem jantar.
If you have time, come have dinner.
The future subjunctive is mandatory in se-clauses that refer to future events. This is one of the hardest habits to build for English and Spanish speakers.
❌ Oxalá que ele venha.
Incorrect — oxalá never takes que.
✅ Oxalá ele venha.
I hope he comes.
Learners reach for que because esperar que, querer que, and desejar que all require it. Oxalá does not — the subjunctive follows the particle directly.
❌ Não dizes-me isso!
Incorrect — enclisis after não.
✅ Não me digas isso!
Don't tell me that!
Negation forces proclisis. The clitic must come before the verb whenever não (or another negative element) is present. Writing the clitic after the verb in a negative sentence is one of the most persistent EP mistakes.
❌ Que um dia bonito!
Incorrect — no indefinite article after que.
✅ Que dia bonito!
What a beautiful day!
English what a has no direct Portuguese equivalent. Portuguese uses bare que with no article. Inserting um/uma is a calque that sounds immediately foreign.
Key takeaways
Related Topics
- Portuguese Sentence Structure OverviewA1 — An introduction to how Portuguese sentences are built — word order, sentence types, and what makes Portuguese different from English.
- Declarative SentencesA1 — The default sentence type used to make statements — affirmative or negative — with standard SVO word order.
- Yes/No QuestionsA1 — How to ask questions that expect sim or não — using intonation, the é que frame, and echo-verb answers.
- Wh-Questions (Quem, Que, Onde, Quando...)A1 — Forming information questions with quem, que, qual, onde, como, quando, quanto, and porque — with or without the é que frame.
- Tag Questions (Não é?, Pois não?)A2 — Forming confirmation questions at the end of sentences — não é?, pois não?, não achas?, and why Portuguese tags are invariable unlike English ones.
- Indirect QuestionsB1 — Reporting questions inside declarative sentences — with perguntar, querer saber, and não saber, using statement word order, se for yes/no, and tense backshift in past reports.
- Imperative Sentences (Commands, Instructions, Requests)A2 — How Portuguese gives orders, makes requests, and softens commands — with a focus on tu/você imperatives, negative forms, and politeness strategies.
- Exclamatory SentencesA2 — Sentences that express surprise, admiration, shock, or emotional emphasis — built around que, como, quanto and standalone interjections.
- Wish Sentences (Oxalá, Quem me dera)B1 — Expressing wishes, yearnings, and counterfactual regrets in Portuguese — oxalá, quem me dera, tomara, gostava que, and the subjunctive pairings each one requires.
- Conditional Sentences OverviewA2 — A map of the three main types of if-then sentences in European Portuguese, with the essential tense pairings and the future subjunctive rule that catches most English speakers off guard.