Verb Moods: Indicative, Subjunctive, Imperative | Portuguese (Portugal) Grammar

When you learn a new verb tense, you are learning when something happens -- past, present, or future. But Portuguese verbs carry a second dimension: mood. Mood tells you what kind of statement you are making -- is it a fact, a wish, or a command? Every conjugated verb in Portuguese belongs to one of three moods: the indicative, the subjunctive, or the imperative.

What is mood?

Mood (modo) expresses the speaker's attitude toward the action. Is the action something real and certain? Something hoped for or doubted? A direct order? The answer determines which mood you use.

Think of mood as a lens through which you present the action. The same verb can appear in all three moods, and the form changes each time:

Ele fala português.

He speaks Portuguese. (indicative — a fact)

Quero que ele fale português.

I want him to speak Portuguese. (subjunctive — a wish)

Fala português!

Speak Portuguese! (imperative — a command)

Notice how falar becomes fala, fale, or fala depending on the mood. The subject and the time are the same, but the speaker's attitude changes everything.

The indicative: the mood of reality

The indicative (indicativo) is the default mood. You use it to state facts, describe reality, and talk about what is, was, or will be. If you are not expressing doubt, desire, or a command, you are almost certainly in the indicative.

The indicative has the most tenses of any mood. It covers the present, several past tenses, the future, and the conditional. Here are examples across different indicative tenses:

A Maria mora em Lisboa.

Maria lives in Lisbon. (present)

Ontem fomos ao cinema.

Yesterday we went to the cinema. (preterite)

Quando era criança, brincava no jardim.

When I was a child, I used to play in the garden. (imperfect)

Amanhã vou trabalhar cedo.

Tomorrow I will work early. (future / periphrastic)

Indicative tense	Used for	Example
Present	Current facts and habits	Falo português.
Preterite	Completed past actions	Falei com ele.
Imperfect	Ongoing or habitual past	Falava muito rápido.
Pluperfect	Action before another past action	Já falara com a mãe.
Future	Predictions and promises	Falarei com o diretor.
Conditional	Hypothetical or polite statements	Falaria contigo se pudesse.

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Some Portuguese grammars classify the conditional (condicional) as a separate mood. Most modern references treat it as an indicative tense, and that is the approach we follow here. Either way, the forms are the same.

The subjunctive: the mood of possibility

The subjunctive (conjuntivo, in European Portuguese terminology) is the mood of uncertainty, desire, doubt, emotion, and hypothetical situations. You use it not for what is, but for what might be, should be, or is hoped for.

The subjunctive appears in subordinate clauses -- after specific trigger words and constructions. Common triggers include verbs of wishing (querer, desejar), doubt (duvidar), emotion (ter medo que, esperar que), impersonal expressions (é importante que, é possível que), and certain conjunctions (para que, embora, antes que).

Portuguese has four subjunctive tenses: present, imperfect, future, and pluperfect.

Espero que estejas bem.

I hope you are well. (present subjunctive)

Se eu pudesse, viajava pelo mundo.

If I could, I would travel the world. (imperfect subjunctive)

Quando chegares a casa, telefona-me.

When you get home, call me. (future subjunctive)

Embora ele tivesse estudado, não passou no exame.

Although he had studied, he didn't pass the exam. (pluperfect subjunctive)

The future subjunctive: a living feature of EP

One of the most distinctive features of European Portuguese is its active use of the future subjunctive (futuro do conjuntivo). In Spanish, this tense has nearly disappeared, surviving only in legal language. In Portuguese, it is alive and used daily.

You encounter the future subjunctive in se (if) and quando (when) clauses that refer to future or uncertain situations:

Se tu quiseres, podemos ir ao Porto.

If you want, we can go to Porto.

Quando eu tiver tempo, leio esse livro.

When I have time, I'll read that book.

Subjunctive tense	Used for	Example
Present	Current wishes, doubts, emotions	Quero que fales.
Imperfect	Hypothetical or past uncertainty	Se falasses mais devagar...
Future	Future conditions (se, quando)	Quando falares com ele...
Pluperfect	Unrealized past situations	Se tivesses falado...

The imperative: the mood of commands

The imperative (imperativo) is the mood of direct commands, instructions, and requests. It has only present-tense forms and exists in affirmative and negative versions. In European Portuguese, the forms you will use most are tu (informal) and você (formal).

Abre a janela, por favor.

Open the window, please. (tu — affirmative)

Não feches a porta!

Don't close the door! (tu — negative)

Note that the affirmative tu imperative typically matches the third-person singular indicative (ele fala gives the imperative fala!), while the negative tu imperative uses the present subjunctive (não fales!).

Comparison: the three moods side by side

Mood	Used for	Example	Translation
Indicative	Facts, reality, statements	Ela come fruta todos os dias.	She eats fruit every day.
Subjunctive	Wishes, doubt, hypotheticals	Quero que ela coma fruta.	I want her to eat fruit.
Imperative	Commands and requests	Come a fruta!	Eat the fruit!

How moods interact with tenses

Each mood has its own set of tenses -- they are not interchangeable. The indicative has the richest inventory, while the imperative has only one tense.

Mood	Available tenses
Indicative	Present, preterite, imperfect, pluperfect, future, conditional, plus compound forms
Subjunctive	Present, imperfect, future, pluperfect (simple and compound)
Imperative	Present only

The subjunctive in everyday EP

Unlike what some textbooks suggest, the subjunctive is not a relic of formal writing in European Portuguese. It appears constantly in everyday speech. Sentences like these are completely natural in daily conversation:

Talvez eu vá ao supermercado depois.

Maybe I'll go to the supermarket later.

Quando chegares, avisa-me.

When you arrive, let me know.

Portuguese speakers reach for the subjunctive instinctively whenever they express a wish, a condition, or an uncertainty. The future subjunctive, in particular, is so common that avoiding it would sound unnatural.

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European Portuguese also has the personal infinitive (infinitivo pessoal), which can sometimes replace the subjunctive in certain constructions. For example, É importante falarmos sobre isto uses a personal infinitive where other Romance languages would need a subjunctive clause. This is covered in its own dedicated page.

Mood vs tense: the key distinction

Learners often confuse mood and tense because both affect the verb's form. The distinction is straightforward:

Tense tells you when: past, present, or future.
Mood tells you what kind of statement: a fact (indicative), a wish or doubt (subjunctive), or a command (imperative).

A verb always has both a mood and a tense. Falei is indicative (fact) and preterite (past). Fale is subjunctive (wish) and present. These two dimensions work together to give Portuguese verbs their remarkable precision.

Next steps

To explore each mood in depth, see The Present Indicative for the most essential indicative tense, The Subjunctive for a complete guide to all four subjunctive tenses, and The Imperative for commands and requests.