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Portuguese (Portugal)

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).

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### 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.

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Notice in the following sentences how the subjects (*a conservatória* and *o meu avô materno*) come directly after their verbs (*entregou* and *investigou*).

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### 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.

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Subject-verb inversion in subordinate clauses

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prefix

prep

preposition

pron

pronoun

sentence

verb

Demonstratives and the verb to be (isto é, o, a)

Subject pronouns and negation (eu, não)

Yes/no questions and question words (quem, o que)

Plural pronouns, articles, and verbs (somos, são, os, as)

Origin and possession (de, do, da)

Introductions (chamar-se)

Indefinite articles (um, uma, uns, umas)

The verb to be for locations (estar)

Contrasting the two verbs to be (ser vs. estar)

Preposition for locations (em, no, na)

Numbers 0 to 10 (zero, um, dois)

The verb to have (tenho, tem)

Regular -ar verbs (falar, trabalhar)

Regular -er verbs (comer, beber)

Regular -ir verbs (abrir, partir)

My, your, and our (o meu, a nossa)

His, hers, and theirs (dele, dela)

Adjective agreement and placement

Days of the week (segunda-feira)

Months of the year (janeiro)

Counting by tens to 100 (trinta, quarenta...)

Telling time (é uma, são...)

Asking about time (quando, a que horas)

The verb to go (ir)

Prepositions of direction (a, para)

Preposition a contractions (ao, à, aos, às)

Prepositions of place (ao lado de, em frente de...)

Demonstratives (este, esse, aquele)

Contractions with demonstratives (neste, desse, daquele)

Asking which and how many (qual, quanto)

Plurals ending in -ão (-ões, -ãos, -ães)

Plurals ending in consonants (-ns, -is, -es)

The verb to like (gostar de)

The verb to need (precisar de)

The verb to want (querer)

The verb can or may (poder)

Expressing obligation (ter de)

Adverbs of degree (muito, pouco)

Quantifiers (muito, pouco)

Comparatives (mais... do que, menos... do que)

Equality comparisons (tão... como)

The preposition com (comigo, contigo)

Coordinating conjunctions (e, mas, ou, porque)

The preposition por (pelo, pela)

Double negation (nunca, nada, ninguém)

Present continuous (estar a)

Near future (ir)

Past tense of regular -ar verbs

Past tense of regular -er and -ir verbs

Past tense of ser and ir (fui, foi)

Direct object pronouns (me, te, o, a, nos, os, as)

Pronoun placement with negatives and questions

Greetings and courtesy (bom dia, obrigado)

Physical states with ter (ter fome, ter frio)

Asking the way (à direita, sempre em frente)

Colours (vermelho, amarelo, cor-de-rosa)

Money and shopping (custar, a moeda)

Getting around (o motorista, a paragem de autocarro)

Weather and seasons (faz calor, o inverno)

Omitting the subject pronoun

Where things are: ficar (Onde fica...?)

Richer questions: que + noun and é que

Numbers above 100 (cento e vinte, mil)

First-person sound changes (durmo, prefiro)

Advice and ability: dever and saber

Asking why: porquê and porque

When one thing happens: quando-clauses

Here and there: aqui, aí, ali (cá e lá)

Formal and plural possessives: o seu, o vosso

Irregular presents: ver, vir, dar

Present irregulars

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se, nos)

Stem-changing reflexives

Attached object pronouns (-lo, -la, -los, -las)

Nasal attached pronouns (-no, -na, -nos, -nas)

Pronoun placement with adverbs

Past tense of fazer, dizer, and trazer

Past tense of ter, estar, poder, and saber

Past tense of querer and vir

Past tense of ver, dar, and ler

Past tense reflexive verbs (-se)

Time elapsed in the past (há)

Question	Answer
Here is where my great-grandfather was born.	Aqui é onde nasceu o meu bisavô.
the registry office	a conservatória
The documents that the registry office handed me are old.	Os documentos que me entregou a conservatória são antigos.
I need the record that the registry office made.	Preciso do registo que fez a conservatória.
the great-grandson	o bisneto
When my great-grandson was born, I read his history.	Quando nasceu o meu bisneto, li a história dele.
Everything that my great-grandson does is wonderful.	Tudo o que faz o meu bisneto é maravilhoso.
maternal	materno
The village where my maternal grandfather lived is small.	A aldeia onde viveu o meu avô materno é pequena.
the lineage	a linhagem
The lineage that my maternal grandfather investigated is famous.	A linhagem que investigou o meu avô materno é famosa.
The secret that my grandfather talked about surprised everyone.	O segredo de que falou o meu avô surpreendeu todos.
the baptism	o batismo
The date on which his baptism occurred is unknown.	A data em que ocorreu o batismo dele é desconhecida.
to uncover	desvendar
paternal	paterno
The mystery that my paternal grandfather uncovered is incredible.	O mistério que desvendou o meu avô paterno é incrível.
the descendant	o descendente
The truth that the descendant was looking for was there.	A verdade que procurava o descendente estava ali.
Whenever a descendant is born, the lineage grows.	Sempre que nasce um descendente, a linhagem cresce.
the genetics	a genética
The details that genetics studies are complex.	Os detalhes que estuda a genética são complexos.
the gene	o gene
The problem that this gene causes is rare.	O problema que causa este gene é raro.
As genetics advances, the gene explains everything.	À medida que avança a genética, o gene explica tudo.
The paternal lineage that my parents uncovered surprised me.	A linhagem paterna que desvendaram os meus pais surpreendeu-me.
Actually, I do not know where the baptism certificate is.	Na verdade, não sei onde está a certidão de batismo.