While standard Portuguese sentences follow a Subject-Verb-Object order, you will often notice a different rhythm in relative and subordinate clauses. When talking about ancestry and tracing family trees, you will frequently hear the subject placed after the verb.
Inversion with "Onde"
When a relative clause begins with onde (where), it is very common to invert the subject and the verb. This sounds especially natural when the verb is short, like nascer (to be born) or viver (to live).
Inversion with "Que"
When que (that/which) connects two parts of a sentence and acts as the object of the second part, the subject of that second part frequently follows the verb.
Before looking at an example, let's learn the word for the registry office, a vital place for genealogy research.
Notice in the following sentences how the subjects (a conservatória and o meu avô materno) come directly after their verbs (entregou and investigou).
Inversion in Time and Proportion Clauses
Words that introduce time or proportion—such as quando (when), sempre que (whenever), and à medida que (as)—also frequently trigger this subject-verb inversion. This happens often when introducing a new event, discovery, or arrival.