European Portuguese does an extraordinary amount of its grammatical work with periphrases — fixed auxiliary + linker + main-verb patterns that express tense, aspect, modality, voice, and causation without ever introducing a new inflection. This page is a reference: every productive construction on one screen, grouped by the kind of meaning it adds. Treat it as a lookup you return to whenever you need to pick between, say, ando a trabalhar and venho trabalhando, or between ter de fazer and dever fazer.
For a gentler introduction, see the Periphrastic Overview. For the deep logic of aspect, see Verbal Aspect. For modality in depth, see Modality and Modal Verbs. For voice alternations, see Voice and Valency.
Tense and temporal location
These constructions place an event in time. They are periphrastic alternatives (or replacements) for synthetic tenses.
| Construction | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ir + inf | near future ("going to") | vou ligar-te amanhã |
| estar a + inf | present progressive | estou a ler |
| estar prestes a + inf | imminent future ("about to") | o comboio está prestes a partir |
| haver de + inf | intentional/eventual future | hei de visitar-te |
| acabar de + inf | recent past ("have just") | acabo de chegar |
| ia + inf | counterfactual past / interrupted intention | ia sair, mas começou a chover |
| estava a + inf | past progressive | estava a ver televisão |
Vou passar na farmácia a caminho de casa.
I'm going to stop by the pharmacy on my way home.
Ia ligar-te, mas vi que estavas ocupado.
I was about to call you, but I saw you were busy.
The ia + inf pattern deserves attention — it is the standard way to express an interrupted or cancelled intention in the past, a meaning English handles with "was going to" or "was about to." It uses the imperfect of ir followed by a bare infinitive. See ir + infinitive for the full paradigm.
Hei de ir a Coimbra um dia destes.
I'll get to Coimbra one of these days (I'm determined to).
Aspect — the internal temporal shape of the event
Portuguese marks aspect almost entirely through periphrasis. The synthetic tenses give you perfective vs imperfective (preterite vs imperfect), but for every finer distinction — progressive, habitual, iterative, inchoative, terminative, gradual — you reach for a periphrasis.
Inception (starting)
| Construction | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| começar a + inf | start doing (neutral) | comecei a estudar às oito |
| pôr-se a + inf | suddenly start (abrupt, often unexpected) | pôs-se a chorar |
| passar a + inf | shift to doing (from now on) | passei a trabalhar em casa |
| desatar a + inf | break into doing (colloquial, vivid) | desatou a rir |
A partir de Janeiro, passei a correr todas as manhãs.
Starting in January, I took to running every morning.
Passar a is subtly different from começar a: it marks a change of regime, not just the first moment of an action. Desatar a is vivid and often carries emotional force — it suggests a sudden, uncontainable beginning.
Continuation and persistence
| Construction | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| continuar a + inf | keep on doing, still doing | continuo a aprender |
| ficar a + inf | remain/stay doing | ficou a ver o pôr do sol |
| andar a + inf | be engaged in lately (iterative over weeks/months) | ando a pensar nisso |
Ando a dormir mal por causa do barulho.
I've been sleeping badly lately because of the noise.
See the dedicated pages on andar a + infinitive, continuar a + infinitive, and ficar a + infinitive.
Completion and cessation
| Construction | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| acabar de + inf | have just (finished) doing | acabo de sair |
| acabar por + inf | end up doing (after a process) | acabei por ficar |
| deixar de + inf | stop doing | deixei de fumar |
| parar de + inf | stop doing (neutral, concrete) | parou de chover |
| cessar de + inf | cease doing (formal) | cessou de emitir sinais |
| chegar a + inf | get as far as doing / ever do | nunca cheguei a conhecê-lo |
Acabo de receber a tua mensagem, desculpa a demora.
I've just received your message, sorry for the delay.
Depois de muita discussão, acabámos por concordar.
After much discussion, we ended up agreeing.
Deixar de is the default "stop doing"; parar de is slightly more physical and concrete (parou de chover is more natural than deixou de chover for weather). Chegar a + inf is a subtle one: it asks whether something happened at all (nunca cheguei a saber = "I never got to find out"). See acabar de + infinitive, deixar de + infinitive, and chegar a + infinitive.
Habitual, iterative, repetitive
| Construction | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| costumar + inf | usually do (habitual) | costumo almoçar à uma |
| andar a + inf | have been doing lately (iterative) | ando a ver muitos filmes |
| voltar a + inf | do again (repetition) | voltei a ligar-lhe |
| tornar a + inf | do again (formal/literary variant) | nunca tornei a vê-lo |
Costumo ir ao ginásio três vezes por semana.
I usually go to the gym three times a week.
Voltei a pensar no que me disseste.
I thought again about what you told me.
Tornar a is the older, literary twin of voltar a; both mean "to do again." In modern everyday speech, voltar a is much more common. See voltar a + infinitive and costumar + infinitive.
Gradual aspect — the gerund constructions
| Construction | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ir + gerund | gradually doing, unfolding bit by bit | fui aprendendo |
| vir + gerund | gradual build-up toward now (trend) | os preços vêm subindo |
| andar + gerund | be around doing (regional/less common in EP) | anda dizendo por aí |
Com o tempo, fui percebendo que ele tinha razão.
With time, I gradually came to realise he was right.
O clima tem vindo a mudar nas últimas décadas.
The climate has been changing over recent decades.
The second example shows a double periphrasis: ter + past participle (compound perfect) stacked on top of vir a + inf — journalistic register, expressing a gradual trend that reaches into the present.
Modality — the speaker's stance on the action
Modal periphrases grade an action for necessity, possibility, permission, ability, or volition. For depth, see Modality and Modal Verbs.
| Construction | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ter de / que + inf | have to do (external obligation) | tenho de ir ao médico |
| dever + inf | should / must (duty or inference) | deves descansar |
| dever de + inf | must (epistemic, probability) | deve de estar a dormir |
| haver de + inf | will / ought to (soft obligation, determination) | hás de aprender |
| precisar de + inf | need to do | preciso de descansar |
| poder + inf | can / may (ability, permission, possibility) | posso entrar? |
| saber + inf | know how to do (learned ability) | sei nadar |
| conseguir + inf | manage to do (successful attempt) | consegui abrir a porta |
| querer + inf | want to do | quero experimentar |
| tender a + inf | tend to do | tende a chover à tarde |
Tens de provar esta broa, é deliciosa.
You have to try this cornbread, it's delicious.
Ele sabe tocar piano, mas nunca consegue acabar a peça sem enganar-se.
He knows how to play piano, but he never manages to finish the piece without slipping up.
The saber vs conseguir contrast is crucial: saber is the acquired skill, conseguir is the successful execution on a given occasion. See ter de + infinitive and haver de + infinitive.
Causative constructions — making someone do something
Causative periphrases let you say that one person causes, orders, lets, or sets another in motion. Portuguese has four core causatives, each with its own flavour.
| Construction | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| mandar + inf | order / have something done | mandei arranjar o carro |
| deixar + inf | let, allow, permit | deixa-me pensar |
| fazer + inf | make, cause (direct causation) | a música fez-me chorar |
| pôr + a + inf | set X doing, get X started | pôs o filho a estudar |
Mandei pintar a casa no mês passado.
I had the house painted last month.
Deixa-o falar, ainda não acabou.
Let him speak, he hasn't finished yet.
Aquela notícia fez-me reflectir muito.
That news made me reflect a great deal.
O professor pôs os alunos a copiar o texto todo.
The teacher set the students copying the whole text.
Note the causee (the person who actually does the action) appears between the auxiliary and the infinitive or right after the infinitive: mandei o mecânico arranjar o carro / mandei arranjar o carro ao mecânico. Clitic pronouns attach to the main verb by default: deixa-me ver, fazem-me rir. Mandar is ambiguous in isolation between "order someone to do" and "have something done" — context disambiguates.
Resultative constructions — the state after the action
Resultatives stack an auxiliary + past participle to describe the state that results from an action. The past participle agrees with the subject in gender and number when the auxiliary is ser, estar, or ficar.
| Construction | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| estar + pp | be in the resulting state | a porta está fechada |
| ficar + pp | end up in a state (change-of-state result) | ficou zangado |
| ter + pp | compound perfect (action, not state) | tenho feito muito |
| andar + pp | go around in a state (colloquial) | anda preocupado |
| ir + pp | go in a state / leave in a state | foi desiludido |
As janelas ficaram abertas toda a noite.
The windows were left open all night.
Ele anda muito cansado destas últimas semanas.
He's been really tired these last few weeks.
The key EP contrast is estar vs ficar + past participle: estar describes an existing state, ficar describes becoming that state. A porta está fechada ("the door is closed") vs a porta ficou fechada ("the door ended up closed / got closed"). For compound perfect with ter, see present-perfect compound.
Voice — passive and impersonal
Portuguese uses three periphrastic strategies for voice. Each moves the agent offstage to a different degree.
| Construction | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ser + pp | canonical passive (agent demoted, optionally named) | o livro foi escrito por Saramago |
| ficar + pp | resultative passive (focus on end state) | o livro ficou terminado |
| se + verb (3sg/3pl) | pronominal passive (agent unspecified) | vendem-se casas |
| se + verb (3sg, intr.) | impersonal (generic subject) | come-se bem aqui |
| estar + a ser + pp | progressive passive | a casa está a ser pintada |
| vir + a ser + pp | becoming passive (formal) | o projecto veio a ser aprovado |
A lei foi aprovada por unanimidade.
The law was passed unanimously.
Vendem-se bilhetes à porta.
Tickets (are) sold at the door.
Come-se bem aqui em Lisboa.
One eats well here in Lisbon.
A ponte está a ser reparada desde Março.
The bridge has been under repair since March.
The ser-passive names or implies an agent; the se-passive suppresses the agent entirely. The impersonal se has no subject at all — it is the Portuguese equivalent of generic "one" or "people." For the full analysis, see Voice and Valency, active to passive, se-passive, and impersonal se.
Periphrases that stack
In running text and especially in journalism, periphrases routinely stack two or three deep. The general rule is: the outermost auxiliary carries the tense/person, and each subsequent layer narrows the aspect, modality, or voice.
O problema tem vindo a agravar-se nos últimos meses.
The problem has been getting worse over recent months.
This one stacks ter (compound perfect auxiliary) + vir a (progressive) + agravar-se (reflexive/middle verb) — three layers of grammatical work, one event.
A reforma está a ser implementada pelo governo.
The reform is being implemented by the government.
Here estar a (progressive) + ser (passive) + implementada (agreeing past participle). English matches this with "being implemented." Common in news register.
Tenho andado a pensar em mudar de emprego.
I've been thinking about changing jobs.
Ter (perfect) + andar a (iterative/recent) + pensar — a very typical EP layering for "I've been meaning/thinking lately."
Clitic placement with periphrases
Clitic pronouns usually attach to the main verb (the infinitive, gerund, or participle), but they can also attach to the auxiliary. Attachment to the main verb is the modern default for most speakers.
Vou dizer-te uma coisa.
I'm going to tell you something.
Não te vou dizer nada.
I'm not going to tell you anything. (negation triggers proclisis to the auxiliary)
Está a ouvir-me?
Are you listening to me?
Tinha acabado de o ver quando ele me ligou.
I had just seen him when he called me.
The general rule: enclisis to the main verb by default, proclisis forced to the auxiliary by negation, subordinators, and certain adverbs (já, ainda, nunca, também, talvez, só, apenas). See the page on clitic placement for the full rules.
Common mistakes
❌ Estou lendo o jornal.
Incorrect in EP — Brazilian Portuguese uses 'estar + gerund' for the progressive, but European Portuguese uses 'estar a + infinitive'.
✅ Estou a ler o jornal.
I'm reading the newspaper.
This is the single most important dialect marker. EP = estar a + inf. Always.
❌ Tenho que fazer-lhe uma pergunta, mas não consigo lembrar-me.
Stylistically off — the clitic 'me' is fine, but writers prefer 'não me consigo lembrar' because 'não' is a stronger proclisis trigger.
✅ Tenho de lhe fazer uma pergunta, mas não me consigo lembrar.
I have to ask him a question, but I can't remember.
❌ Ando pensando nisto há dias.
Incorrect in EP — the iterative aspect is 'andar a + infinitive', not 'andar + gerund'.
✅ Ando a pensar nisto há dias.
I've been thinking about this for days.
❌ Fiz o carro lavado.
Incorrect — the causative 'have something done' is 'mandar + infinitive', not 'fazer + past participle'.
✅ Mandei lavar o carro.
I had the car washed.
❌ O livro está sendo lido por toda a gente.
Marked as Brazilian — EP prefers 'estar a ser + pp' for the progressive passive.
✅ O livro está a ser lido por toda a gente.
The book is being read by everyone.
❌ Deixei fumar no ano passado.
Incorrect — 'deixar de + inf' = 'stop doing'. Without 'de', 'deixar + inf' means 'let/allow to do'.
✅ Deixei de fumar no ano passado.
I stopped smoking last year.
Key takeaways
- Portuguese periphrases are the main delivery system for aspect, modality, voice, and causation. Tense can be synthetic; almost everything else is periphrastic.
- Every periphrasis is auxiliary + linker + main verb. Treat the whole unit as one item with one meaning.
- Watch the preposition: acabar de (just) vs acabar por (end up); deixar + inf (allow) vs deixar de + inf (stop); dever + inf (should) vs dever de + inf (must, probably).
- EP progressive = estar a + inf, never estar + gerund. This is the clearest dialect marker.
- Periphrases stack freely: tenho andado a pensar, está a ser feito, vem-se verificando. The outermost auxiliary owns the tense; each layer narrows meaning.
- Causatives (mandar, deixar, fazer, pôr a) let you put someone else in charge of the main action, each with its own flavour.
- Resultatives (estar / ficar + pp) describe states; the perfect (ter + pp) describes an ongoing or recent activity.
- Voice periphrases range from the agent-specifying ser passive to the agentless se passive to the generic impersonal se. Choose by how much you want to say about the agent.
Related Topics
- Periphrastic Verb Constructions: OverviewA2 — A map of the productive verb + preposition + infinitive (and verb + gerund) constructions of European Portuguese — the compact machinery that adds aspect, phase, and modality to any verb.
- Verbal Aspect in PortugueseB2 — Aspect is the internal temporal shape of an event — complete or ongoing, starting or stopping, habitual or one-off. European Portuguese marks aspect with a rich combination of synthetic contrasts and periphrastic constructions; this page is the full map.
- Modality and Modal VerbsB1 — How Portuguese expresses obligation, permission, possibility, ability, and volition — the modal verbs poder, dever, ter de, haver de, saber, conseguir, querer, precisar de, and the subtle nuances that separate them.
- Voice and Valency AlternationsC1 — The full system of voice and valency in European Portuguese — active, passive with ser, passive with se, true reflexive, inherent pronominal, reciprocal, anticausative, and causative — and how the same verb can live in several of these slots.
- Passive Voice and Impersonal Constructions (Overview)B1 — Portuguese expresses passive and agentless meaning through four related constructions — ser + past participle, se + verb (passive), impersonal se, and ficar + participle. This page maps out when to use each.
- Compound Tenses OverviewA2 — The complete inventory of European Portuguese compound tenses built with ter + past participle, across indicative, subjunctive, infinitive, and gerund.