The most common home of the personal infinitive is after a preposition. Constructions like para nós sabermos, sem eles dizerem, antes de tu saíres, depois de vocês chegarem, and ao entrarmos na sala are the everyday workhorses of the form — the kind of sentence a native Portuguese speaker produces dozens of times a day. This page walks through the six main prepositions that take the personal infinitive, with paradigms, examples, and register notes for each. It is also where clitic placement with pronominal verbs needs careful attention, so that gets its own section at the end.
The unifying logic: a preposition sets up a subordinate clause, and the personal infinitive fills that clause without needing a que or a finite verb. The result is compact, natural Portuguese — dramatically lighter than the conjunction-plus-subjunctive alternatives (para que, antes que, sem que, depois que), which are also grammatical but feel heavier and more written.
para (in order to, for, so that)
The preposition para with the personal infinitive marks purpose — "in order for X to happen." When the subject of the purpose clause differs from the main clause, the personal infinitive is the natural choice.
| Person | Example |
|---|---|
| eu | para eu saber — for me to know |
| tu | para tu saberes — for you to know |
| ele / ela | para ele saber — for him to know |
| nós | para nós sabermos — for us to know |
| eles / elas | para eles saberem — for them to know |
Explica-me outra vez, para eu perceber.
Explain it to me again, so I understand.
Para tu saberes, a reunião foi adiada para sexta-feira.
Just so you know, the meeting was pushed to Friday.
Vou deixar as chaves na porta para eles entrarem.
I'm going to leave the keys in the door so they can get in.
Para nós chegarmos a tempo, temos de sair daqui a dez minutos.
For us to get there on time, we have to leave in ten minutes.
The equivalent conjunction is para que + subjunctive (para que eu perceba, para que eles entrem). Both structures are grammatical, but para + personal infinitive is overwhelmingly more common in European Portuguese speech. Reach for para que + subjunctive only in formal writing or when you want to emphasize the subject shift.
sem (without)
Sem with the personal infinitive expresses "without X doing Y." With a different subject, the infinitive inflects; with the same subject, it stays bare.
Saí sem fazer barulho.
I left without making any noise. (same subject)
Saí sem os miúdos acordarem.
I left without the kids waking up. (different subject — personal infinitive)
Conseguiste fazer tudo sem eu te ajudar?
You managed to do everything without me helping you?
Sem tu dizeres nada, já percebi o que se passava.
Without you saying anything, I already knew what was going on.
Resolveram o problema sem nós sabermos.
They solved the problem without us knowing.
O gato entrou em casa sem darmos por isso.
The cat came into the house without our noticing.
The alternative, sem que + imperfect subjunctive (sem que os miúdos acordassem, sem que eu te ajudasse), is also correct but feels markedly more formal or written. In everyday speech, sem + personal infinitive is what you will hear.
antes de (before)
Antes de + personal infinitive marks an action that happens before another. With a different subject, the infinitive inflects.
Antes de sair, verifica se tens as chaves.
Before leaving, check that you have your keys. (same subject)
Antes de tu saíres, toma o pequeno-almoço.
Before you leave, have breakfast.
Antes de nós falarmos com ela, fala tu com o pai.
Before we speak with her, you speak with Dad.
Antes de os convidados chegarem, ainda temos de arrumar a cozinha.
Before the guests arrive, we still have to tidy the kitchen.
Despeça-se antes de eles irem embora.
Say goodbye before they leave.
The conjunction antes que also exists (antes que saias, antes que cheguemos), and takes the subjunctive — but it is far less common than antes de + infinitive in modern European Portuguese. Spanish speakers learning Portuguese tend to overuse antes que because of the parallel with antes de que in Spanish; training yourself to reach for antes de + (personal) infinitive is one of the quickest wins for sounding more native.
depois de (after)
Depois de + personal infinitive marks an action that happens after another. This is one of the most frequent constructions in the whole language.
Depois de comermos, vamos dar um passeio.
After we eat, we'll go for a walk.
Depois de tu acabares o trabalho, podemos ir ao cinema.
After you finish work, we can go to the cinema.
Liga-me depois de saberes a resposta.
Call me after you know the answer.
Depois de os clientes saírem, fechámos a loja.
After the customers left, we closed the shop.
Depois de pormos as crianças na cama, sentámo-nos a ver televisão.
After putting the kids to bed, we sat down to watch TV.
The competing form depois que takes the indicative for past actions that really happened (depois que cheguei..., "after I arrived...") or the future subjunctive for future actions (depois que chegares, depois que saírem). Because depois que has this tense-specific behavior, depois de + personal infinitive is usually the simpler choice — it works for past, present, and future without tense gymnastics.
Depois que chegarmos, vamos jantar.
After we arrive, we'll have dinner. (future subjunctive)
Depois de chegarmos, vamos jantar.
After we arrive, we'll have dinner. (personal infinitive — more common)
Both sentences mean the same thing, but the personal infinitive version is lighter. In conversation, you will hear it dramatically more often.
até (until)
Até as a preposition means "until." With the personal infinitive, it marks the endpoint of an ongoing action.
Esperámos até eles chegarem.
We waited until they arrived.
Lê até tu estares com sono.
Read until you're sleepy.
Continuem a tentar até resolverem o problema.
Keep trying until you solve the problem.
Treinei até não conseguir levantar os braços.
I trained until I couldn't lift my arms. (same subject)
The alternative até que + subjunctive (either present or imperfect, depending on context) is also grammatical, but again the preposition-plus-infinitive construction is lighter and more common.
ao (upon, when, as)
The preposition ao (a contraction of a + o) with the personal infinitive is the European Portuguese equivalent of Spanish al + infinitivo. It marks simultaneous or immediately sequential actions, and it is one of the most elegant and common uses of the personal infinitive.
Ao entrar na sala, vi logo que algo estava errado.
When I entered the room, I immediately saw something was wrong. (same subject)
Ao entrarmos na sala, toda a gente se calou.
When we entered the room, everyone went silent.
Ao ouvires o som, carrega no botão.
When you hear the sound, press the button.
Ao saberem da notícia, começaram a chorar.
Upon hearing the news, they started to cry.
Ao passarmos pela praça, reparámos no novo monumento.
As we passed through the square, we noticed the new monument.
This is the Portuguese equivalent of Spanish al salir, al entrar, al verlo — with the huge advantage that Portuguese can conjugate it. Spanish al entrar is ambiguous about who is entering; Portuguese ao entrarmos specifies nós. This is the personal infinitive at its most compact and most useful.
A few more prepositions and quasi-prepositions
Beyond the core six, a handful of other prepositions and complex prepositions take the personal infinitive.
apesar de (despite, although)
Apesar de estarmos cansados, fomos à festa.
Despite being tired, we went to the party.
Apesar de eles saberem, não disseram nada.
Even though they knew, they didn't say anything.
em vez de (instead of)
Em vez de ficares em casa, vem connosco.
Instead of staying home, come with us.
Em vez de eles reclamarem, deviam ajudar.
Instead of complaining, they should help.
a fim de (in order to)
A fim de chegarmos a um acordo, é preciso ceder um pouco.
In order for us to reach an agreement, some giving-in is needed.
This is a more formal register than para; you will see it in official writing but rarely in casual speech.
além de (besides, in addition to)
Além de serem simpáticos, são muito competentes.
Besides being nice, they're very competent.
por (by, through, because of, for)
Por não termos tempo, adiámos a viagem.
Because we didn't have time, we postponed the trip.
Por estares atrasado, perdemos o comboio.
Because you were late, we missed the train.
Por with the personal infinitive gives a causal reading — "because of X-ing." Compare with porque + finite verb (the more common choice in casual speech).
Clitic placement with the personal infinitive
Pronominal verbs (reflexive or object-pronoun-bearing) need careful handling with the personal infinitive. The rules follow general European Portuguese clitic placement, but a couple of points are worth spelling out.
Default: clitic after the inflected infinitive (enclisis)
After a preposition, the standard pattern is clitic after the inflected infinitive, linked with a hyphen.
Para se levantarem cedo, os miúdos têm de ir para a cama às nove.
For them to get up early, the kids have to go to bed at nine.
Sem te preocupares, tudo vai correr bem.
Without you worrying, everything will go fine.
Depois de nos encontrarmos, fomos jantar.
After we met, we went to dinner. (proclisis — clitic before the inflected infinitive)
Depois de encontrarmo-nos, fomos jantar.
After we met, we went to dinner. (enclisis — with the -s of -mos dropping before nos)
Note the enclisis form: when -mos meets nos, the final -s of -mos drops, producing encontrarmo-nos (not encontrarmos-nos). This is a standard rule of Portuguese phonology — see the formation page for a full account. Both placements (proclisis and enclisis) are acceptable after prepositions in modern European Portuguese.
With reflexive verbs and nós
É bom levantarmo-nos cedo aos domingos.
It's nice for us to get up early on Sundays.
Antes de nos sentarmos à mesa, disse uma prece.
Before we sat down at the table, I said a prayer.
Note the alternative here: in the first example, the clitic attaches after the inflected form (levantarmo-nos). In the second, the preposition antes de permits the clitic to appear before the inflected infinitive (proclisis — antes de nos sentarmos). Both are standard European Portuguese; proclisis after a preposition is increasingly common in writing and speech.
The se-form with eles
Para se entenderem melhor, deviam falar abertamente.
For them to understand each other better, they should speak openly.
Sem se importarem com o barulho, continuaram a conversar.
Without caring about the noise, they kept chatting.
Here se is a reflexive clitic that can appear either before or after the inflected infinitive. After prepositions, both placements are acceptable; modern usage leans toward proclisis (para se entenderem) when a full clause is being built up, but enclisis (entenderem-se) is also correct.
With direct object pronouns
Para o convencermos, temos de lhe mostrar os números.
To convince him, we need to show him the numbers.
Sem os vermos, não podemos decidir.
Without seeing them, we can't decide.
Ao encontrá-los no corredor, cumprimentámo-los logo.
Upon meeting them in the corridor, we greeted them right away.
Note the last example: when a clitic pronoun (here os) follows an infinitive ending in -r, the -r drops and the pronoun takes the form -los. The personal infinitive form encontrá-los shows this: encontrar + os → encontrá-los. This is standard European Portuguese clitic morphology, and it applies to the personal infinitive just as it does to the bare infinitive.
A side-by-side reference
Here are all six core prepositions with the same verb (chegar, "to arrive") in personal-infinitive paradigms, for quick reference.
| Subject | para | sem | antes de | depois de | até | ao |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| eu | para eu chegar | sem eu chegar | antes de eu chegar | depois de eu chegar | até eu chegar | ao chegar |
| tu | para tu chegares | sem tu chegares | antes de tu chegares | depois de tu chegares | até tu chegares | ao chegares |
| ele | para ele chegar | sem ele chegar | antes de ele chegar | depois de ele chegar | até ele chegar | ao chegar |
| nós | para chegarmos | sem chegarmos | antes de chegarmos | depois de chegarmos | até chegarmos | ao chegarmos |
| eles | para chegarem | sem chegarem | antes de chegarem | depois de chegarem | até chegarem | ao chegarem |
Notice that for 1pl and 3pl, the subject pronoun is often dropped — the inflection alone signals nós or eles. For 1sg, 2sg, and 3sg, the subject pronoun usually stays, because the inflection alone cannot distinguish eu from ele.
Common Mistakes
❌ Para nós chegar cedo, temos de sair já.
Incorrect — with nós, the infinitive must be inflected: chegarmos.
✅ Para nós chegarmos cedo, temos de sair já.
For us to arrive early, we have to leave now.
Once you commit to a subject pronoun with a preposition, you must inflect the infinitive to match. Leaving the infinitive bare after an explicit subject is ungrammatical.
❌ Depois de os convidados chegar, abrimos o champanhe.
Incorrect — with the subject os convidados (3pl), the infinitive needs the ending -em.
✅ Depois de os convidados chegarem, abrimos o champanhe.
After the guests arrive, we'll open the champagne.
Third-person-plural subjects require -em on the infinitive.
❌ Saiu sem que dizer nada.
Incorrect — sem que requires a finite subjunctive verb, not an infinitive.
✅ Saiu sem dizer nada.
He left without saying anything. (same subject — bare infinitive)
✅ Saiu sem que nós disséssemos nada.
He left without us saying anything. (sem que + imperfect subjunctive)
Sem que takes a finite subjunctive; sem takes an infinitive. Mixing them produces an ungrammatical hybrid.
❌ Antes de pôres a mesa, lava as mãos.
Incorrect — pôr drops its circumflex when an ending is added. It's pores, not pôres.
✅ Antes de pores a mesa, lava as mãos.
Before you set the table, wash your hands.
A small but real orthographic trap: pôr only keeps the circumflex on the bare form. Once -es attaches, the accent is gone.
❌ Ao levantar-nos cedo, apanhámos o primeiro comboio.
Ambiguous — the bare infinitive levantar leaves the subject unclear. Inflect to specify nós.
✅ Ao levantarmo-nos cedo, apanhámos o primeiro comboio.
When we got up early, we caught the first train.
When a reflexive verb meets -mos, the -s of -mos drops before -nos. The result is levantarmo-nos — the hyphenated clitic is standard European Portuguese orthography.
Key takeaways
- The personal infinitive's most common home is after a preposition: para, sem, antes de, depois de, até, ao.
- With a subject change, the inflected infinitive replaces what Spanish and French would have to express with a full que + subjunctive clause.
- Ao + personal infinitive is the Portuguese equivalent of Spanish al + infinitivo, with the added precision of person marking.
- Conjunctions with que (para que, antes que, sem que, depois que) are also grammatical but markedly more formal. The prepositional forms dominate everyday speech.
- Clitic pronouns attach to the inflected infinitive with standard European Portuguese placement rules. The -s of -mos drops before -nos (levantarmo-nos).
- When the subject is nós or eles, the pronoun is often dropped because the inflection carries the information.
Next: personal infinitive as the subject of impersonal expressions for the other major context.
Related Topics
- Personal Infinitive: OverviewB1 — The infinitivo pessoal — an infinitive that conjugates for person and number — is Portuguese's signature grammatical feature, and one of the things that makes the language feel unlike the rest of Romance.
- Personal Infinitive: FormationB1 — How to build the infinitivo pessoal: take the infinitive and add the personal endings -es, -mos, -em. No stem changes, no irregularities — the only exception is pôr, which keeps its circumflex.
- Personal vs Regular Infinitive: When to InflectB1 — The decision rules for choosing between the impersonal (bare) infinitive and the personal (inflected) infinitive — the most consulted page in this set.
- Personal Infinitive as SubjectB2 — Using the inflected infinitive as the subject of a sentence — é importante estudarmos, é bom vocês virem, lermos ajuda a memorizar — and how this competes with the que + subjunctive construction.
- Subjunctive vs InfinitiveB2 — When Portuguese uses an infinitive — impersonal or personal — where other Romance languages force a subjunctive, and how to pick correctly between que + conjuntivo and the infinitive.
- Future Subjunctive with Quando and Temporal ConjunctionsB1 — How European Portuguese uses the future subjunctive (futuro do conjuntivo) after quando, assim que, logo que, enquanto, sempre que, mal, depois que, and até — the tense that anchors unrealised future events in time clauses.