By C1, you already know each of Portuguese's tense-aspect-mood dimensions in isolation. You can conjugate the preterite and the imperfect; you know when to use the present subjunctive; you understand that the conditional handles hypothetical meaning. What you probably cannot yet do with full confidence is handle all three dimensions at once — the sequence-of-tenses rules that choreograph a complex sentence, the way the main clause's tense constrains the embedded clause's mood, the aspectual nuances that decide between imperfect subjunctive and pluperfect subjunctive. This page is about that choreography.
The Portuguese TAM system has three tenses that matter for the indicative (present, past, future), two major aspects (perfective vs imperfective), and three moods (indicative, subjunctive, imperative — with an honourable mention for the personal infinitive). Every clause you produce is a choice along each of these axes. In a simple sentence the choices are nearly independent. In a complex sentence, they become linked by concordance rules that Portuguese takes very seriously. Getting the choreography right is what makes your long, embedded sentences sound like something a real Portuguese speaker would write.
The sequence of tenses — concordância temporal
Concordância temporal (sequence of tenses) is the rule-system that governs what tense the embedded clause takes given what tense the main clause has. It applies in both indicative and subjunctive contexts, though the subjunctive patterns are the ones advanced learners most need to drill.
Indicative concordance
When the main verb is indicative, the embedded verb is also indicative, but its tense shifts to match the temporal perspective of the main verb. Three main configurations:
Main clause present → subordinate clause any tense (as meaning requires):
Sei que ele está em casa.
I know he's at home. (subordinate present)
Sei que ele vai chegar amanhã.
I know he'll arrive tomorrow. (subordinate future)
Main clause past → subordinate clause is anchored to that past:
Sabia que ele tinha chegado no dia anterior.
I knew he had arrived the day before.
Sabia que ele estava em casa.
I knew he was at home.
Sabia que ele iria chegar no dia seguinte.
I knew he would arrive the next day.
Notice the cascade: sabia (imperfect) pulls tinha chegado (pluperfect for prior past), estava (imperfect for simultaneous past), iria chegar (conditional for posterior-to-past). Each embedded tense is relative to the main clause's past, not to the speaker's present.
Subjunctive concordance
The subjunctive system is where concordance becomes genuinely tight. The general pattern:
| Main clause tense | Subjunctive in subordinate clause |
|---|---|
| Present, future, imperative | Present subjunctive OR present perfect subjunctive |
| Preterite, imperfect, conditional | Imperfect subjunctive OR pluperfect subjunctive |
The choice within each pair depends on whether the embedded event is simultaneous/posterior (present / imperfect) or anterior (present perfect / pluperfect) to the main clause.
Main present → present subjunctive (simultaneous/posterior):
Quero que venhas à festa amanhã.
I want you to come to the party tomorrow.
Duvido que ele saiba a resposta.
I doubt he knows the answer.
Main present → present perfect subjunctive (anterior):
Duvido que ele tenha chegado a horas.
I doubt he arrived on time.
É pena que não tenhas estudado mais.
It's a shame you didn't study more.
Main past → imperfect subjunctive (simultaneous/posterior-to-past):
Queria que viesses à festa naquela noite.
I wanted you to come to the party that night.
Duvidava que ele soubesse a resposta.
I doubted he knew the answer.
Main past → pluperfect subjunctive (anterior-to-past):
Duvidava que ele tivesse chegado a horas.
I doubted he had arrived on time.
Era pena que não tivesses estudado mais.
It was a shame you hadn't studied more.
Aspect inside the subjunctive
Here is an advanced subtlety that most beginner grammars skip entirely: the subjunctive still carries aspectual information. Even though the imperfect subjunctive and the pluperfect subjunctive are both "past-ish," they encode different aspects, and the indicative aspect of the event we are imagining still shows through.
The pattern: when you convert an indicative past to a subjunctive, you preserve the aspect.
- Preterite (perfective) → pluperfect subjunctive: fez (did, perfective) → tivesse feito (had done).
- Imperfect (imperfective) → imperfect subjunctive: fazia (was doing / used to do, imperfective) → fizesse (were doing / would do).
This matters because it tells you, the speaker, which subjunctive form to pick based on what the indicative version of the same event would have looked like.
Se ele fizesse isso todos os dias, estaria mais em forma.
If he did that every day (imperfective habit), he'd be in better shape.
Se ele tivesse feito isso ontem, não estaríamos aqui.
If he had done that yesterday (perfective, specific), we wouldn't be here.
The first example pairs fizesse with a habitual reading (todos os dias) — imperfective. The second pairs tivesse feito with a specific, completed past — perfective.
Reported speech and backshift
When you report what someone said, Portuguese generally backshifts: the tenses in the reported clause slide one step into the past relative to what the original speaker used. This follows the sequence-of-tenses rules above, but it shows up often enough in everyday speech that it deserves its own section. See reported speech with the conditional for more.
| Original | Reported (past) |
|---|---|
| "Estou cansado." → present | Disse que estava cansado. → imperfect |
| "Cheguei ontem." → preterite | Disse que tinha chegado no dia anterior. → pluperfect |
| "Vou amanhã." → ir + inf | Disse que ia no dia seguinte. → imperfect of ir |
| "Farei isso." → simple future | Disse que faria isso. → conditional |
| "Tenho chegado a horas." → present perfect | Disse que tinha chegado a horas. → pluperfect |
Ele disse-me que vinha à festa mas não apareceu.
He told me he was coming to the party but he didn't show up.
Ela disse que tinha lido o livro duas vezes.
She said she had read the book twice.
Avisaram-nos que o comboio iria chegar com atraso.
They warned us the train would arrive late.
When backshift doesn't apply
Portuguese does not always backshift. If the content of the reported statement is still true at the time of speaking, the present is often preserved:
Ela disse que Lisboa é a capital de Portugal.
She said Lisbon is the capital of Portugal. (timeless truth — no backshift)
Ele disse que tem dois filhos.
He said he has two children. (still true — no obligatory backshift)
Ele disse que tinha dois filhos.
He said he had two children. (also fine — ambiguous between backshift and 'had' at the time)
English speakers sometimes over-apply backshift because English more mechanically shifts all tenses. Portuguese is more sensitive to whether the reported content is still current.
Reported commands and wishes — subjunctive takes over
Commands and wishes shift from imperative/present-subjunctive to imperfect-subjunctive in reported speech:
Original: 'Traz-me um café.' → Ele pediu-me que lhe trouxesse um café.
Original: 'Bring me a coffee.' → He asked me to bring him a coffee.
Original: 'Quero que venhas.' → Disse que queria que eu viesse.
Original: 'I want you to come.' → He said he wanted me to come.
Counterfactual conditionals — the canonical pattern
Portuguese counterfactuals (conditionals about events that did not happen or are unlikely) use a rigid paired structure:
| Type | Se-clause | Main clause |
|---|---|---|
| Present counterfactual | imperfect subjunctive | conditional (or imperfect indicative, colloquial) |
| Past counterfactual | pluperfect subjunctive | conditional perfect |
| Mixed (past cause, present effect) | pluperfect subjunctive | conditional |
Present counterfactual — about a current hypothetical state:
Se tivesse tempo, iria contigo.
If I had time, I'd go with you. (But I don't have time right now.)
Se fosse mais barato, comprava.
If it were cheaper, I'd buy it. (Colloquial — imperfect indicative instead of conditional.)
Past counterfactual — about something that didn't happen:
Se tivesse sabido, teria avisado.
If I had known, I'd have warned you.
Se tivessem saído mais cedo, não teriam apanhado o trânsito.
If they had left earlier, they wouldn't have hit the traffic.
Mixed counterfactual — past cause with present consequence:
Se tivesses estudado, agora sabias a resposta.
If you'd studied, you'd know the answer now.
Se não tivesse perdido o emprego, não estaria nesta situação.
If I hadn't lost my job, I wouldn't be in this situation.
The pluperfect system — simple and compound
Portuguese has two pluperfect forms — a feature that sets it apart from Spanish (which has only the compound) and from most Romance languages.
- Simple pluperfect (fizera, comera, fora): one word, highly literary, rarely used outside of formal writing.
- Compound pluperfect (tinha feito, tinha comido, tinha sido): two words, the everyday form.
Quando chegámos, eles já tinham jantado.
By the time we got there, they had already had dinner. (compound, natural)
Ela já se despedira dos amigos quando a música recomeçou.
She had already said goodbye to her friends when the music started up again. (literary simple pluperfect)
Os soldados haviam partido antes do amanhecer.
The soldiers had set out before dawn. (literary, with haver as auxiliary)
For day-to-day use, learn the compound form. For reading literature, recognise the simple form. See the simple pluperfect for a deeper look.
The pluperfect subjunctive
Formed with imperfect subjunctive of ter (or haver) + past participle. This is the heavy-hitter for past counterfactuals and anterior subjunctives.
| Person | Pluperfect subjunctive of fazer |
|---|---|
| eu | tivesse feito |
| tu | tivesses feito |
| ele/ela | tivesse feito |
| nós | tivéssemos feito |
| vocês | tivessem feito |
| eles/elas | tivessem feito |
Se tivesse sabido que ias estar cá, tinha ficado mais tempo.
If I had known you were going to be here, I'd have stayed longer.
Queria que tivesses ido comigo ao concerto.
I wish you'd come with me to the concert.
The conditional perfect
Formed with ter or haver in the conditional + past participle. Pairs with the pluperfect subjunctive in past counterfactuals. See conditional perfect.
Se tivesses pedido ajuda, teríamos resolvido o problema.
If you'd asked for help, we would have solved the problem.
Eu teria ido à festa se não estivesse tão cansada.
I would have gone to the party if I hadn't been so tired.
In colloquial speech, the conditional perfect is often replaced by the compound pluperfect indicative: tinha ido instead of teria ido. Both are grammatical; the compound indicative is more informal.
The future subjunctive — where Portuguese diverges
European Portuguese has a fully productive future subjunctive that Spanish has lost. It appears after se, quando, assim que, logo que, enquanto, and many other conjunctions when the embedded event is in the future or uncertain. The future subjunctive matters for TAM interactions because it is the only Portuguese subjunctive tense that lines up with future-oriented main clauses.
Quando chegares, liga-me.
When you get here, call me.
Se precisares de ajuda, diz-me.
If you need help, tell me.
Assim que souberes o resultado, envia-me uma mensagem.
As soon as you know the result, send me a message.
Note the futurity: a Portuguese speaker feels the main clause is about a future event, and matches the subordinate with a future subjunctive. Spanish would use present subjunctive or present indicative (cuando llegues, not a distinct future subjunctive form). See future subjunctive for the full pattern.
Worked example: a long sentence
Let us take a realistic long Portuguese sentence and unpack the TAM choreography.
Se tivessem avisado que a reunião ia ser adiada, teria aproveitado para ficar mais um dia em Lisboa e teria visitado a exposição que os amigos me disseram que era imperdível.
If they had told me that the meeting was going to be postponed, I'd have taken the opportunity to stay an extra day in Lisbon and I'd have visited the exhibition that my friends told me was unmissable.
Working through it:
- Se tivessem avisado — pluperfect subjunctive (past counterfactual, anterior)
- que a reunião ia ser adiada — imperfect of ir
- passive infinitive, reporting a future-in-the-past
- teria aproveitado — conditional perfect (main clause of past counterfactual)
- para ficar — personal infinitive would be possible here but simple infinitive is fine (shared subject)
- teria visitado — conditional perfect, parallel to teria aproveitado
- que os amigos me disseram — preterite of dizer (specific past event)
- que era imperdível — imperfect indicative (reported state, backshifted)
Every one of those choices flows from the main clause's tense and the temporal relations between events. This is what fluency in TAM interactions looks like.
Comparison with Spanish
Spanish and Portuguese are close cousins here, but there are telling differences.
- Future subjunctive: productive in Portuguese, essentially extinct in Spanish (survives only in legal and ceremonial set phrases like donde fueres, haz lo que vieres). Portuguese says quando chegares; Spanish says cuando llegues.
- Simple pluperfect: productive as a literary form in Portuguese (fizera, comera). In Spanish, hiciera has largely been reassigned to serve as an alternate imperfect subjunctive; the old pluperfect indicative meaning survives only in highly literary prose.
- Backshift preferences: Portuguese more willingly keeps the present tense in reported speech when the content is still true. Spanish backshifts more aggressively.
- Colloquial counterfactuals: both allow the imperfect indicative in casual counterfactuals (si tuviera dinero, compraba), but the Portuguese pattern se tivesse dinheiro, comprava is arguably more entrenched in everyday Lisbon speech.
Comparison with English
English organises TAM very differently from Portuguese, and the mismatches cause specific errors.
- English only has a shadow of a subjunctive. "If I were rich" survives; "if I had known" works; but there is no mood-triggering main clause the way Portuguese has quero que, duvido que, é necessário que. English speakers learning Portuguese often forget to trigger the subjunctive.
- English backshift is more mechanical. "He said he was tired" is almost obligatory; Portuguese Ele disse que está cansado can survive untouched if the state is current.
- English lacks a morphological future subjunctive. When you arrive handles both present ("when you arrive at parties, you hug everyone") and future ("call me when you arrive tomorrow"). Portuguese distinguishes: quando chegas (habitual present) vs quando chegares (specific future event).
- English has only the compound pluperfect. Had done corresponds to Portuguese tinha feito or the literary fizera. A learner needs to reach for the literary form when reading older Portuguese texts.
Common mistakes
Mistake 1: Present subjunctive after a past main verb.
❌ Queria que venhas à festa.
Wrong: queria (imperfect indicative) must trigger imperfect subjunctive.
✅ Queria que viesses à festa.
Correct: imperfect subjunctive matches the past main verb.
This is one of the most common C1-level errors, because beginners get drilled on present subjunctive until it becomes reflexive, then carry it over to past contexts where it doesn't fit.
Mistake 2: Mixing conditional and imperfect subjunctive in the wrong slots.
❌ Se teria dinheiro, comprava uma casa.
Wrong: the se-clause takes imperfect subjunctive, not conditional.
✅ Se tivesse dinheiro, comprava uma casa.
Correct: imperfect subjunctive in the se-clause, imperfect or conditional in the main clause.
The conditional never appears in a se-clause. This is one of the strictest rules in Portuguese syntax; violating it sounds immediately wrong to native ears.
Mistake 3: Over-backshifting when the content is still current.
❌ Ele disse que Portugal foi na Europa.
Wrong: backshifting a timeless fact like a country's geographic position produces an odd reading.
✅ Ele disse que Portugal é na Europa. / Ele disse que Portugal fica na Europa.
Correct: keep the present when reporting a timeless truth.
Mistake 4: Confusing pluperfect and imperfect subjunctive.
❌ Se soubesse aquilo, teria avisado.
Odd: the se-clause event (finding out) is clearly prior to the main clause event; should be pluperfect subjunctive.
✅ Se tivesse sabido aquilo, teria avisado.
Correct: pluperfect subjunctive for an anterior past counterfactual.
A useful check: if the main clause is in the conditional perfect (teria + participle), the se-clause should almost always be in the pluperfect subjunctive (tivesse + participle).
Mistake 5: Forgetting the future subjunctive after temporal conjunctions.
❌ Quando tu chegas, avisa-me.
Wrong: future event requires future subjunctive, not present indicative.
✅ Quando chegares, avisa-me.
Correct: quando + future subjunctive for a specific future event.
English speakers massively under-use the Portuguese future subjunctive because English collapses it into the present. Train yourself to notice: is this about a specific future event? Then reach for the future subjunctive.
Key takeaways
- Main clause tense sets the perspective; subordinate tenses are anchored to that perspective.
- Present main → present subjunctive family (present subj. or present perfect subj.).
- Past main → past subjunctive family (imperfect subj. or pluperfect subj.).
- Aspect survives into the subjunctive: perfective past → pluperfect subj.; imperfective past → imperfect subj.
- Reported speech backshifts when the content is situated in the past, not when it remains current.
- Counterfactuals follow a strict triad: present (imperfect subj. + conditional), past (pluperfect subj. + conditional perfect), mixed (pluperfect subj. + conditional).
- Future subjunctive is a live category after temporal and conditional conjunctions for specific future events.
- The simple pluperfect (fizera) is literary; the compound (tinha feito) is everyday.
Related Topics
- Conditional in Reported SpeechB2 — Future-in-the-past and the tense shifts that happen when you report what someone said
- Conditional in Hypothetical SentencesB1 — How the conditional pairs with the imperfect subjunctive to describe hypothetical, counterfactual, and unreal situations.
- If-Clauses with the Imperfect SubjunctiveB1 — Se + imperfeito do conjuntivo + conditional (or imperfect indicative): the core Portuguese pattern for hypothetical and counterfactual conditions — plus the three-way contrast between open, hypothetical, and past-impossible conditions.
- Pluperfect Subjunctive: Counterfactual Past ConditionalsB2 — The emotional heart of the pluperfect subjunctive — 'if only I had known' — with the full se-clause pattern, the choice between teria and tinha in the main clause, mixed conditionals, and the register of regret, blame, and what-might-have-been.
- Preterite vs Imperfect OverviewA2 — When to use the preterite and when to use the imperfect
- Mais-que-Perfeito OverviewB1 — Expressing actions completed before another past action -- the two Portuguese pluperfects at a glance
- Condicional Composto (Conditional Perfect)B2 — Teria feito — the Portuguese conditional perfect, used for counterfactual pasts, past speculation, softened criticism, and journalistic hedging. Includes the very common EP colloquial replacement with tinha + participle.