The table above illustrates everything you need to know about conjugating the auxiliary ter(to have) in the imperfect subjunctive, but if you’d like to know more about how to form and use this tense, check out our post on the imperfect subjunctive in Brazilian Portuguese.
Brazilian Portuguese Articles
How to use the past perfect subjunctive in Brazilian Portuguese?
By: Ana Amélia Rodrigues dos Santos Thu Dec 12 2024
In Brazilian Portuguese, the past perfect subjunctive, also known as pluperfect subjunctive, formed by combining an imperfect subjunctive form of the auxiliaryNo definition set for auxiliaryLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. ter(to have) with the past participleNo definition set for past participleLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. of the main verb. We use this tense, like other subjunctive tenses, primarily in clauses introduced by words and phrases that express wishes, emotions, or doubt.
ter (imperfect subjunctive)past participle
Duvidamos que Jorge tivesse realmente feito o jantar.
We doubted that Jorge had actually cooked dinner.
The past perfect subjunctive is used, in particular, to talk about a past action occurred before to another past action (as above) or in clauses discussing a hypothetical past, as in:
ter (imperfect subjunctive)past participle
Eu teria feito o trabalho se tivesse tido tempo suficiente.
I would have done the work if I had had enough time.
Are you curious to know more about this verb tense? Let’s start!
Table of Contents
How to form the past perfect subjunctive?
The past perfect subjunctive is formed by combining the auxiliaryNo definition set for auxiliaryLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. ter(to have) in the imperfect subjunctive tense with the past participle of a main verb. Because it is a combination of an auxiliary and a main verb, this is a “compound verb tense.”
ter(to have)
imperfect subjunctive
past participle
Se você tivesse vindo à reunião, teríamos nos visto.
If you had come to the meeting, we would have seen each other.
Take a look at the table below for the full conjugations:
Subject pronouns | ter(to have) Imperfect subjunctive | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
eu(I) | tivesse |
|
tu(you) | tivesses | |
| tivesse | |
nós(we) | tivéssemos | |
vós* (you, formal) | tivésseis | |
| tivessem |
Tip
Here are some important notes about building the past perfect subjunctive in Brazilian Portuguese:
In Brazilian Portuguese, the past participle of a regular verb will end either in -ado (for -ar verbs) or -ido (for -er or -ir verbs), but irregular past participles may have a different form:
past participleSe eu tivesse falado com a Manuela, ela teria feito o bolo.
If I had spoken to Manuela, she would have made the cake.
→ falar(to speak) is a regular verb ⇒ falado(spoken)Se ele tivesse aberto supermercado mais cedo, teria vendido mais.
If he had opened the supermarket earlier, he would have sold more.
→ abrir(to open) is an irregular verb ⇒ aberto(opened)Check out our post on past participles in Brazilian Portuguese to learn more about how to create this form of the verb.
The verb haver(to have) can sometimes be used instead of ter in the past perfect subjunctive. In this case, haver is also conjugated in the imperfect subjunctive.
auxiliary verbpast participleSe o Paulo houvesse visto o noticiário, saberia o que tinha acontecido no Brasil.
If Paulo had seen the news, he would know what happened in Brazil.
However, haver is a very formal auxiliary and rarely used in everyday language. In informal Brazilian Portuguese, the auxiliary ter(to have) is mostly used.
Now that you know how to form the past perfect subjunctive, let’s see when to use it.
When to use the past perfect subjunctive?
In Brazilian Portuguese, the past perfect subjunctive is mostly used in the subordinate clauseNo definition set for subordinate clauseLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. of in places where, in English, you would say “might have verbed,” “would have verbed,” or “had verbed” in English. For example:
subordinate clause
Eu queria muito que você tivesse chegado mais cedo.
I really wished that you had arrived earlier.
Specifically, the past perfect subjunctive is used to speculate or make assumptions about a past event or situation that took place or existed before (or sometimes at about same time as) another past moment, as in the example below:
Achei que tivesse visto esse filme.
I thought I had watched this movie.
Important
Less often, the past perfect subjunctive can appear in an independent clauseNo definition set for independent clauseLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., when the adverbNo definition set for adverbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. talvez(maybe, perhaps) indicates that you’re making an assumption about the past.
past perfect subjunctive
Talvez ela tivesse nadado mais rápido do que eu.
Maybe she would have swam faster than me.
In Brazilian Portuguese, the adverb talvez can be placed in many positions in the clause with no change of meaning. So, in addition to the example above, you can also phrase the sentence above as:
✅ Ela talvez tivesse nadado mais rápido do que eu.
✅ Ela tivesse talvez nadado mais rápido do que eu.
✅ Ela tivesse nadado talvez mais rápido do que eu.
Like other uses of the subjunctive mood in Brazilian Portuguese, there are certain constructions that commonly “trigger” the use of the subjunctive mood. Let’s talk about exactly what expressions tend to trigger the use of the past perfect subjunctive in particular and compare this subjunctive tense with others.
Use the past perfect subjunctive after some W.E.I.R.D expressions
The past perfect subjunctive can be used words and phrases that express wishes, emotions, or doubt/denial — three of the W.E.I.R.D expressions that trigger the present subjunctive:
W | wishes | Esperávamos que eles tivessem chegado bem. We hoped they had arrived well. |
|---|---|---|
E | emotions | Fiquei surpresa que eles tivessem ganhado o campeonato. I was surprised that they had won the championship. |
D | doubt or denial | Eu duvidei que ela tivesse feito o jantar. I doubted that she had made the dinner. |
The verbs expressing the wish/emotion/doubt in the examples above are all conjugated in a past tense, either the preterite or the imperfect:
esperávamos(we hoped)
fiquei(I got)
duvidei(I doubted)
That is because the past perfect subjunctive is always used to talk about hypotheses and assumptions someone had at a past moment, as mentioned earlier.
Important: Past perfect subjunctive vs. past perfect indicative
The past perfect subjunctive and the past perfect indicative can both be used in subordinate clauses expressing someone’s thoughts on an event that happened before another past moment. So what is the difference?
The past perfect subjunctive is used in cases where someone was unsure or surprised about the events in the subordinate clause:
past perfect subjunctiveFiquei surpresa que eles tivessem ganhado o campeonato.
I was surprised that they had won the championship.
The past perfect indicative is used only in cases where someone was certain about the events that took place.
past perfect indicativeEstava convencida de que eles tinham ganhado o campeonato.
I was convinced that they had won the championship.
If you want to know more about the past perfect indicative in Brazilian Portuguese, read this post.
The full set of W.E.I.R.D. expressions we saw for the present subjunctive also includes expressions from two other groups:
Wishes
Emotions
Impersonal expressions ←
Requests or orders ←
Demands/denials
However, these two types of expressions do not generally trigger the past perfect subjunctive in Brazilian Portuguese, even when they’re used in the past tense. Let’s look at what you should do instead.
Can you use the past perfect subjunctive after impersonal expressions?
When using an impersonal expressions in the past tense, like foi/era bom(it was good), foi/era difícil(it was difficult), or foi/era possível(it was possible), you can use the past perfect subjunctive:
past perfect subjunctive
🆗 Era necessário que tivessem terminado tudo antes do anoitecer.
It was necessary that they had finished everything before nightfall.
However, Brazilians prefer to use the simple infinitive or personal infinitive, as these verb forms are a bit clearer.
simple infinitivepersonal infinitive
✅ Era necessário terminar tudo antes do anoitecer.
✅ Era necessário terminarem tudo antes do anoitecer.
It was necessary (for them) to finish everything before nightfall.
Can you use the past perfect subjunctive in requests/orders?
When verbs for requests or orders are conjugated in the preterite or imperfect tense, they are usually not paired with the past perfect subjunctive, but are instead paired with the imperfect subjunctive.
imperfect subjunctive
✅ Eu pedi que eles terminassem a reforma antes de nos mudarmos.
I asked them to finish the renovation before we moved.
Use the past perfect subjunctive for a condition that wasn’t met
The past perfect subjunctive in the “if clause” of an if-then statement in circumstances where the condition was not met. For example:
Se tivéssemos conversado, saberia mais sobre seus planos.
If we had talked, I would know more about your plans.
→ We did not talk.Se você tivesse vindo, teria encontrado o Joaquim.
If you had come, you would have seen Joaquim.
→ You did not come.
When you use the past perfect subjunctive this way, the main clause will be either in conditional simple or the conditional perfect. We use the conditional simple to discuss a hypothetical present (as in the first example above), and the conditional perfect to discuss a hypothetical past (as in the second example).
Where to put object pronouns in the past perfect subjunctive?
In Brazilian Portuguese, direct and indirect pronouns, such as me(me), te(you), and nos(us), are usually placed after the auxiliary, as in:
auxiliary verbpast participle
Se eu tivesse te visto, teria parado para conversar.
If I had seen you, I would have stopped to talk.
However, they can also be placed before the auxiliary verb, or even be omitted if the context makes it clear.
object pronounauxiliary verbpast participle
✅ Achei que nos tivessem visto.
✅ Achei que tivessem visto.
I thought they had seen us.
Summary
In this post, we talked about the form and the use of the past perfect subjunctive. We saw that:
The past perfect subjunctive is formed by the auxiliary ter(to have) conjugated in the imperfect subjunctive tense and followed by a main verb in the past participle form, as in:
Eu tivesse andado.
I had walked.
The past perfect subjunctive is used to speculate or make assumptions about events or actions further in the past than another past action, and it is often used with expressions of wishes, emotions, or doubt.
The past perfect subjunctive is also used in “if-clauses” paired with the conditional simple or the conditional perfect to express an unfulfilled condition and its hypothetical outcome in the present or past.
Finally, we also saw that object pronouns when used with past perfect subjunctive, as in all compound tenses, can be placed in between the auxiliary and the main verb, or be omitted altogether if it is clear in the context.
Now, practice the form and use of the past perfect subjunctive with these activities!
