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Portuguese (Portugal)

### 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.

{{item:983935}}

You will also use it constantly after time prepositions like **antes de** (before) and **depois de** (after).

{{item:983938}}

### 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. 

{{item:983941}}

This also works beautifully with other prepositions, such as **sem** (without). 

{{item:983944}}

*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!

{{item:983948}}

The personal infinitive

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
the conductor (orchestra)	o maestro
the baton	a batuta
to play (an instrument)	tocar
The conductor uses the baton for us to start playing.	O maestro usa a batuta para começarmos a tocar.
to tune	afinar
the violin	o violino
The conductor arrives before you tune the violins.	O maestro chega antes de vocês afinarem os violinos.
the sheet music	a partitura
the cello	o violoncelo
I bring the sheet music for them to play with the cellos.	Trago a partitura para eles tocarem com os violoncelos.
the symphony	a sinfonia
the flute	a flauta
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.
the measure	o compasso
It is important for you to look at the conductor before coming in on the measure.	É importante olharem para o maestro antes de entrarem no compasso.
We need silence for the violins to tune well.	Precisamos de silêncio para os violinos afinarem bem.
The conductor looks at the flutes before they start playing.	O maestro olha para as flautas antes de elas começarem a tocar.
For us to play this symphony, we have to follow each measure.	Para tocarmos esta sinfonia, temos de seguir cada compasso.
This measure is as difficult as that one for us to play.	Este compasso é tão difícil como aquele para tocarmos.
During the rehearsal, it is essential for us to look at the sheet music.	Durante o ensaio, é essencial olharmos para as partituras.
I hope the conductor finishes the rehearsal before we play the symphony.	Espero que o maestro termine o ensaio antes de tocarmos a sinfonia.
the orchestra	a orquestra
The orchestra plays well after the cellos tune.	A orquestra toca bem depois de os violoncelos afinarem.
For the orchestra to be famous, we have to practice a lot.	Para a orquestra ser famosa, temos de praticar muito.
The conductor needs the baton for us to play the symphony.	O maestro precisa da batuta para nós tocarmos a sinfonia.

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