Infinitivo pessoal: para nós fazermos
Infinitivo pessoal: para nós fazermos means “Portuguese can conjugate the infinitive itself, so it shows who does the action”. Portuguese (with Galician) is the only Romance language that inflects the infinitive for person. Formation: infinitivo + -/-es/-/-mos/-des/-em — para eu falar · para nós falarmos · antes de eles chegarem
Portuguese can conjugate the infinitive itself, so it shows who does the action
B1Formation
infinitivo + -/-es/-/-mos/-des/-em — para eu falar · para nós falarmos · antes de eles chegarem
Explanation
Portuguese (with Galician) is the only Romance language that inflects the infinitive for person. The endings attach straight to the infinitive: falar, falares, falar, falarmos, falardes, falarem. Use it when the infinitive has its own subject, different from the main clause or simply worth making explicit: É melhor nós irmos embora; Antes de eles chegarem, arrumei a casa; É importante vocês estudarem. Where English needs a whole subordinate clause ("before they arrived"), Portuguese can stay compact. Note the pleasant consequence for learners: you often avoid the subjunctive entirely by using this form instead.
Examples
Note
Careful: for regular verbs the personal infinitive and the future subjunctive look identical (para eu falar vs quando eu falar). Only irregular verbs tell them apart: para eu fazer vs quando eu fizer.
FAQ
Infinitivo pessoal: para nós fazermos — what does it mean and how is it used?
Portuguese can conjugate the infinitive itself, so it shows who does the action. Portuguese (with Galician) is the only Romance language that inflects the infinitive for person. The endings attach straight to the infinitive: falar, falares, falar, falarmos, falardes, falarem. Use it when the infinitive has its own subject, different from the main clause or simply worth making explicit: É melhor nós irmos embora; Antes de eles chegarem, arrumei a casa; É importante vocês estudarem. Where English needs a whole subordinate clause ("before they arrived"), Portuguese can stay compact. Note the pleasant consequence for learners: you often avoid the subjunctive entirely by using this form instead.
Infinitivo pessoal: para nós fazermos — how do you form it?
infinitivo + -/-es/-/-mos/-des/-em — para eu falar · para nós falarmos · antes de eles chegarem
Infinitivo pessoal: para nós fazermos — any usage notes?
Careful: for regular verbs the personal infinitive and the future subjunctive look identical (para eu falar vs quando eu falar). Only irregular verbs tell them apart: para eu fazer vs quando eu fizer.