1 The Portuguese language in the world
4.12 The subjunctive
For a speaker of English, which does not have the subjunctive as a fully char-acterized tense, the mandatory choice between indicative and subjunctive in a Romance language can be a real challenge. What is called the subjunctive in English is not a verb tense with its own forms, but rather a syntactic construction (McArthur1992:997) that survives primarily in formal usage, with the infini-tive (the citation form of the verb), as in I require that the witness take (rather than takes) the stand now, which contrasts with, say, I know that the witness takes the stand whenever necessary. Likewise, in the past, the infinitive would also be used, as in Her lawyers insisted that she take (as opposed to took) the Fifth Amendment. In if-clauses with the verb to be, the subjunctive construction appears, again in formal style, as were: If I were rich, she’d be my wife; but if she were my wife, I’d be poor. In colloquial usage the regular past form is used:
If I was rich; if she was my wife.
In contrast, Portuguese has six full subjunctive tenses contrasting with the indicative’s nine (Table4.3). The subjunctive occurs primarily in subordinate clauses, where it is governed by an element present in the matrix. Since the nuances expressed by the subjunctive would require a whole volume, this section will be limited to an overview of its main uses.
4.12.1 The subjunctive in nominal clauses
In sentences like those in 94a–94e, the subjunctive may be explained by the presence in the matrix of a verb (94a), noun (94b), or adjective (94c) that signals
4.12 The subjunctive 135 Table 4.3 Indicative and subjunctive tenses contrasted
Indicative Subjunctive
present falam present falem
present perfect tˆem falado present perfect tenham falado
future falar˜ao future falarem
future perfect ter˜ao falado future perfect tiverem falado
imperfect falavam
preterit falaram past falassem
conditional falariam
pluperfect falaram/tinham falado past perfect tivessem falado
conditional perfect teriam falado
either some sort of command or request, or a subjective evaluation (94d–94e) regarding what is expressed by the verb in the subordinate clause.
(94) a. Quero [NomCque vocˆe venha amanh˜a].
‘I want [NomCyou to come tomorrow].’
b.Minha preferˆencia ´e [NomCque ele trabalhe at´e as oito].
‘My preference is [NomCthat he should work till eight].’
c. E prefer´ıvel [´ NomCque a reuni˜ao n˜ao comece tarde].
‘It’s preferable [NomCthat the meeting should not begin late].’
d.Lamento [NomCque vocˆe n˜ao possa vir].
‘I regret [NomCthat you cannot come].’
e. E uma pena [´ NomCque esse acidente tenha acontecido].
‘It’s a shame [NomCthat that accident has happened].’
By contrast, in 95a–95c the verb, noun, or adjective in the main clause simply conveys the assumption that what comes in the subordinate clause is factual, and so the indicative is used.
(95) a. Sei [NomCque vocˆe vem amanh˜a].
‘I know [NomCyou are coming tomorrow].’
b.A informac¸˜ao ´e [NomCque ele trabalha at´e as oito].
‘The information is [NomCthat he works till eight].’
c. E sabido [´ NomCque as reuni˜oes n˜ao comec¸am tarde].
‘It is known [NomCthat the meetings do not begin late].’
Exhortative sentences have a subjunctive form introduced by que as in 96a–96c, and may be considered subordinate to a deleted main sentence con-taining a volition verb, that is, one expressing a wish or desire:
(96) a. Os outros [NomCque se ocupem disso].
‘Let the others [NomCtake care of that].’
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b. Eles [NomCque se danem!]
‘Let them [NomCbe damned!]’
c. Eu n˜ao comi nada, quem comeu [NomCque pague].
‘I didn’t eat anything, [NomCwhoever ate, let them pay].’
After deletion of the matrix, the subject may be moved to a position before que or altogether deleted, as in 97:
(97) Eu quero que eles se danem→ que eles se danem → eles que se danem→ que se danem.
Such sentences commonly occur in exchanges like 98a–98b, where the volition verb present in the question is understood in the reply.
(98) a. – Quer alguma coisa de Miami?
‘Do you want (me to bring you) something from Miami?
b. – Muito obrigado, s´o [NomCque fac¸a boa viagem].
‘(No) thank you, only [NomCthat you have a good trip].’
An element of doubt or denial, or a subjective attitude or evaluation expressed in the main clause, likewise determine the subjunctive in the subordinate clause.
Doubt may be conveyed by a verb such as duvidar ‘to doubt,’ negar ‘to deny,’
or by a negative construction such as n˜ao crer ‘not to believe,’ n˜ao acreditar
‘not to believe,’ or by impersonal constructions with ser followed by a noun or adjective such as poss´ıvel, imposs´ıvel, duvidoso, and so on, as shown in 99:
(99) a. Duvidavam [NomCque o Lula ganhasse a eleic¸˜ao].
‘They doubted [NomCLula would win the election].’
b. E duvidoso [´ NomCque ela chegue na hora].
‘It is doubtful [NomCthat she will arrive on time].’
In the sentence pairs in 100 and 101 the sentence with the subjunctive (b) reflects an element of doubt that is absent from the corresponding sentence with the indicative (a).
(100) Q.: A Gabriela vem trabalhar amanh˜a?
‘Is Gabriela coming to work tomorrow?’
A.: a. Eu imagino [NomCque ela vem, sim].
‘I guess [NomCshe is].’
b. Eu imagino [NomCque ela venha, sim].
‘I guess [NomCshe may].’
(101) Q.: A Gabriela vem trabalhar amanh˜a?
‘Is Gabriela coming to work tomorrow?’
a. Acredito [NomCque ela vem, sim].
‘I believe [NomCshe is].’
4.12 The subjunctive 137 b. Acredito [NomCque ela venha, sim].
‘I believe [NomCshe may].’
Subjective evaluations, in turn, may be expressed by a verb like agradar ‘to please,’ gostar ‘to like,’ adorar ‘to be very fond of,’ lamentar ‘to regret,’ or an impersonal construction made up of ser and an adjective or noun, as in (102):
(102) a. N˜ao me agrada [NomCque ela chegue t˜ao tarde].
‘I am not pleased [NomCthat she should arrive so late].’
b. Lamento [NomCque ele tenha falecido t˜ao jovem].
‘I regret [NomCthat he passed away so young].’
c. E pena que [´ NomCele n˜ao fale inglˆes].
‘It’s a shame [NomChe does not speak English].’
4.12.2 The subjunctive in relative clauses
The key factor in choice between the indicative and the subjunctive is the speaker’s assumptions about the relative pronoun’s antecedent in the matrix clause (Table4.2). The indicative suggests an antecedent perceived as actual and specific, as in 103a. If that antecedent is viewed as a hypothetical entity, however, the verb will be in the subjunctive 103b:
(103) a. Eu quero comprar a moto [RelCque foi anunciada no jornal de ontem].
‘I want to buy the motorcycle [RelCthat was advertised in yesterday’s paper].’
b. Eu quero comprar uma moto [RelCque tenha pouca quilometragem].
‘I want to buy a motorcycle [RelCthat has low mileage].’
c. Eu quero comprar uma moto [RelCque foi anunciada no jornal de ontem].
‘I want to buy a motorcycle [RelCthat was advertised in yesterday’s paper].’
d. Eu quero comprar a moto perfeita, [RelCque gaste pouca gasolina e n˜ao exija manutenc¸˜ao].
‘I want to buy the perfect motorcycle [RelCthat would use little gas and require no maintenance].’
Since nouns referring to known entities are often introduced by the definite article, we may assume that use of the definite article a in sentence 103a implies a definite motorcycle. Not so in 103b, where the subjunctive tenha suggests that no specific motorcycle with low mileage is known to exist, even though there is nothing improbable about its existence. In 103c cooccurence of an indefinite article (uma moto) and an indicative form (tem) suggests the speaker is aware
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of a specific motorcycle, which may simply be out of sight at the moment of the utterance. In 103d, finally, the definite article suggests a specific entity, but its cooccurrence with the subjunctive suggests it is hypothetical – for example, an ideal motorcycle that the speaker knows has yet to be made. These possibilities may be described by means of two variables, definite and hypothetical, to which we assign positive or negative valences, yielding four combinations:
+ Hypothetical – Hypothetical + definite Ainda estou por conhecer a
sogra que trate bem o genro.
Finalmente conheci a sogra que trata bem o genro.
‘I have yet to meet the mother-in-law who would treat her son-in-law nicely.’
‘Finally I have met the mother-in-law who treats her son-in-law nicely.’
− definite Quero conhecer uma sogra que trate bem o genro.
Quero te apresentar uma sogra que trata bem o genro.
4.12.3 The subjunctive in adverbial clauses
Subordinate adverbial clauses are introduced by conjunctions that fall into three large classes (Table4.4), depending on whether the verb of the adverbial clause is (a) in the indicative, (b) or in the subjunctive, or (c) either in the indicative or the subjunctive.
With conjunctions in group (1), which introduce clauses that carry an assump-tion of reality (104a–104c), there is no choice and therefore no contrast in mood.
(104) a. O chefe cortou as di´arias [AdvCporque ningu´em mais vai viajar].
‘The boss has cut the perdiem [AdvCbecause nobody is going to travel anymore].’
b. [AdvCVisto que vocˆe n˜ao veio], n´os cancelamos a reuni˜ao.
‘[AdvCSince you didn’t show up], we canceled the meeting.
c. [AdvCJ´a que ia ter inspec¸˜ao] a gente teve que limpar o alojamento.
‘[AdvCSince there was going to be an inspection] we had to clean the lodging.’
Likewise, conjunctions in group (2) introduce adverbial clauses that con-vey something contrary to fact or hypothetical, or describe a future, yet to be
4.12 The subjunctive 139 Table 4.4 Conjunctions introducing subordinate adverbial clauses
(After Perini2002a)
(1) Conjunctions that introduce an adverbial case with the verb always in the indicative
(2) Conjunctions that introduce an adverbial case with the verb always in the subjunctive
(3) Conjunctions that introduce an adverbial case with the verb in either the indicative or the subjunctive
assim como ‘just so as’ a n˜ao ser que, a menos que
‘unless’
caso, em caso de que ‘in case’
logo que ‘as soon as’
visto que ‘given that’
contanto que ‘as long as, provided that’
quanto mais . . . mais ‘the more . . . the more’
embora ‘although’
sempre que ‘as long as,’
‘whenever’
mesmo que ‘even if’
nem que ‘not even if’
para que ‘so that, in order to’
sem que ‘unless’
fulfilled, event. There is no contrast, since the verb is always in the subjunctive, as in (105a)–(105c).
(105) a. N˜ao fac¸o isso [AdvCnem que me paguem].
‘I don’t do that [AdvCeven if they pay me].’
b. Trabalhou cinco meses [AdvCsem que lhe pagassem nada].
‘He worked for five months [AdvCwithout them paying him anything].’
c. Eu trabalho [AdvCpara que me paguem].
‘I work [AdvCso they’ll pay me].’
Finally, adverbial clauses introduced by conjunctions of group (3) may have the verb either in the indicative or in the subjunctive. Mood choice here corre-sponds to whether the event in the adverbial clause is perceived by the speaker as fulfilled (indicative) or as yet to be fulfilled, either because it is non-factual or because it is still in the future (subjunctive).
The prototypical conjunction case is the temporal conjunction quando (106a–
106h):
(106) a. Vamos jantar [AdvCquando vocˆes chegarem].
We’ll have dinner [AdvCwhen you arrive].’
b. Vou fazer o caf´e [AdvCt˜ao logo ela saia do banheiro].
‘I’ll make coffee [AdvCas soon as she gets out of the bathroom].’
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c. A gente p˜oe o v´ıdeo [AdvCassim que eles chegarem].
‘We’ll start on the video [AdvCas soon as they arrive].’
d. Eu vou fazer isso [Advdesde que vocˆes n˜ao me chateiem].
‘I’ll do that [AdvCas long as you don’t bug me].’
e. Eu entrego o dinheiro [Advdesde que vocˆes me dˆeem um recibo].
‘I’ll hand in the money [AdvCas long as you give me a receipt].’
f. Eu entreguei o dinheiro, [Advdesde que eles me deram um recibo.]
‘I handed in the money, [AdvCbecause they gave me a receipt].’
g. Eu entreguei um recibo [Advdepois que me deram o dinheiro].
‘I handed in a receipt [Advafter they gave me the money].’
h. Eu s´o vou entregar o dinheiro [AdvCdepois que me derem um recibo].
‘I’m only going to hand in the money [AdvCafter they give me a receipt].’
4.12.4 The subjunctive with se in contrary-to-fact adverbial clauses Adverbial clauses introduced by the conjunction se imply a condition. A verb in the indicative signals the assumption that the condition has been fulfilled.
(107) a. [AdvCSe vocˆe tem carro], n˜ao vai ficar sozinho.
‘[AdvCIf you have a car], you won’t lack for company.’
b. [AdvCSe ela conhece esse software], vai conseguir emprego f´acil.
‘[AdvCIf she knows that software], she’ll get a job easily.’
c. Meu filho, [AdvCse vocˆe tem f´e], n˜ao vai ter problema.
‘My son [AdvC, if you have faith], there won’t be any problem.’
In contrast, a verb in the subjunctive signals an unfulfilled condition. This may be a permanent situation, as in the case of a past event calling for the verb in the past subjunctive (108a–108b). In 108c–108d the verb in the future subjunctive signals a condition that may yet be fulfilled.
(108) a. [AdvCSe vocˆe tivesse trazido o passaporte], a gente podia ir a Tijuana.
‘[AdvCIf you had brought your passport] we’d be able to go to Tijuana.’
b. Ele ainda teria o emprego [AdvCse n˜ao falasse tanto].
‘He’d still have the job [AdvCif he didn’t talk so much].’
c. [AdvCSe a gente quiser ir `a ´opera], temos que comprar as entradas logo.
‘[AdvCIf we want to go to the opera] we have to buy the tickets soon.’
d. A gente pode cuidar disso [AdvCquando vocˆes chegarem].
‘We can take care of that [AdvCwhen you arrive].’