A Uniquely Portuguese Feature
Welcome to the Personal Infinitive (Infinitivo Pessoal). In English, an infinitive is simply "to play" or "to tune," regardless of who is doing it. In Portuguese, you can conjugate the infinitive to specify who is performing the action.
To form the personal infinitive, take the dictionary form of the verb (like tocar or afinar) and add these endings:
| Pronoun | Ending | Example (tocar) | Example (afinar) |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | (none) | tocar | afinar |
| tu | -es | tocares | afinares |
| ele/ela/você | (none) | tocar | afinar |
| nós | -mos | tocarmos | afinarmos |
| eles/elas/vocês | -em | tocarem | afinarem |
Notice that the eu and ele/ela/você forms are identical to the normal, uninflected infinitive.
Using Prepositions: 'Para' and 'Antes de'
The personal infinitive is frequently used after prepositions. A very common trigger is para (for / in order to), which is used to express that an action is being done so that someone else can do something.
| The conductor uses the baton for us to start playing. | O maestro usa a batuta para começarmos a tocar. |
You will also use it constantly after time prepositions like antes de (before) and depois de (after).
| The conductor arrives before you tune the violins. | O maestro chega antes de vocês afinarem os violinos. |
Stating the Subject
Because the personal infinitive acts like a mini-sentence, you can include a noun or pronoun alongside it to make the subject perfectly clear.
| I bring the sheet music for them to play with the cellos. | Trago a partitura para eles tocarem com os violoncelos. |
This also works beautifully with other prepositions, such as sem (without).
| It is not possible for us to play the symphony without the flutes being ready. | Não é possível tocarmos a sinfonia sem as flautas estarem prontas. |
A special rule: When the subject (like elas or os violoncelos) comes directly after a preposition like de, Portuguese keeps the words separate instead of contracting them. For example, we write de elas, never delas. This prevents the preposition from contracting with the subject of the infinitive!
| The conductor looks at the flutes before they start playing. | O maestro olha para as flautas antes de elas começarem a tocar. |
