Breakdown of O notário com quem falei sugeriu que eu aceitasse o testamento.
eu
I
quem
who
falar
to speak
com
with
que
that (conjunction)
aceitar
to accept
sugerir
to suggest
o testamento
the will
o notário
the notary
Questions & Answers about O notário com quem falei sugeriu que eu aceitasse o testamento.
Why do we use the imperfect subjunctive (aceitasse) here?
The main verb, sugeriu (suggested), is a verb of influence that triggers the subjunctive. Because sugeriu is in a past tense, the following subjunctive verb must also be in the past to maintain the timeline. This rule is called the sequence of tenses.
In English, the translation says "suggested that I accept". Why don't we use the present subjunctive (aceite) in Portuguese?
English is a bit unusual here—it often uses the base form ("accept") after verbs like "suggest" or "demand", regardless of the main verb's tense. Portuguese is much stricter: a past-tense trigger like sugeriu always forces the imperfect subjunctive (aceitasse), never the present subjunctive.
Just to review, how do we build the imperfect subjunctive form aceitasse?
You start with the simple past form for eles or elas, which is aceitaram. Then, you drop the -ram ending and add the imperfect subjunctive endings. For eu, the ending is -sse, which gives us aceitasse.
Why does the sentence use com quem instead of just que?
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