What we start learning Portuguese grammar with is verbs. The original, basic, form of the verb is the infinitive. Next, we learn to conjugate verbs by person and tense. However, the infinitive itself is involved in the compilation of many grammatical constructions. Today we want to explore this topic in more detail.
Types of infinitive
First, let’s remind you what a verb is. A verb is an independent part of speech that names an action or state. An action is usually, but not always, tied to a subject—a person, animate or inanimate object.
Secondly, we will tell you that there are two types of infinitive – impersonal and personal. The impersonal infinitive describes an action or state that is not related to a person or thing. The personal infinitive, on the contrary, is associated with the character.
Thirdly, it is necessary to understand the grammatical difference between impersonal and personal infinitives in order to use them correctly. Since the personal infinitive is associated with an object, it is conjugated depending on the person of this object.
After verbs
We use the most common case in almost every sentence without even thinking about it. That is, when there are two verbs in a row in a sentence, the second one in sequence always goes in the infinitive. Let’s see what exactly we are talking about:
O Pedro quer pintar as paredes. (Pedro wants to paint the walls.)
A Dália detesta lavar a loiça. (Dalia hates washing dishes.)
The first verb is conjugated depending on the object, and the second goes in the infinitive form.
Everything is logical here.
After prepositions
After a preposition there is always the infinitive.
A Tamara gosta de passar tempo em casa. (Tamara likes to spend time at home.)
Eles sonham em trabalhar numa empresa portuguesa. (They dream of working for a Portuguese company.)
Nós vamos a Lisboa para estudar. (We will go to Lisbon to study.)
Therefore, remember that if you see a preposition, then after it the verb will have the form of infinitive.
Instead of an imperative
The impersonal infinitive can also be used in place of the imperative in the case of permission, prohibition, or recommendation.
Não façam barulho! = Não fazer barulho! (Keep quiet!)
Abra aqui! = Abrir aqui! (Open here)
Instead of thinking about which ending you need to put in order to create the correct form of the imperative, you can simply use the infinitive form and do not change anything. It is very convenient!
Impersonal sentence
Sometimes it is necessary to provide some information or express a request without addressing anyone in particular. To do this, we use the combination of the verb “ser” (to be) plus a noun/adjective, and after them, we put the verb in the infinitive. For example:
É necessário respeitar os idosos. (It is necessary to respect old people.)
É um crime tratar mal os animais. (It is a crime to mistreat animals.)
It expresses general information, position or opinion that applies to all of humanity and to no one in particular.
After the verb “ir”
It is very easy to remember that after the verb “ir” (to go) in any tense (past, present and future) we use the verb in the infinitive form.
Eles foram passear pelo parque. (They went for a walk in the park).
Nós vamos treinar ao ginásio. (We go to train in the gym.)
Eu vou estudar na Inglaterra. (I will study in England.)
So, we conjugate the verb “ir”, but the verb following it does not.
Personal Infinitive
Even though the “personal infinitive” is a rather strange topic for our students, it still needs to be learned because communication in Portuguese often requires its use.
In defense of the personal infinitive, we will say that there are no irregular verbs in it. In addition to this, we take the simple infinitive as the basis for the formation of the personal infinitive. However, now we do not need to change the ending of the infinitive, we just need to add a new one to the existing one.
| Verbo “ser” in the Imperative | |
| Eu | – |
| Tu | -es |
| Ele, ela, você | – |
| Nós | -mos |
| Eles, elas, vocês | -em |
You no longer need to think about which ending the infinitive of the verb has: “-ar“, “-er” or “-ir“, because the same rule applies to everyone.
Today we won’t delve too deeply into cases of using the personal infinitive, since we already had a detailed topic about it. We only want to show those cases that are very similar to cases where you can use the impersonal infinitive or either of the two.
Verb “ser” + noun/adjective
Earlier we called such proposals impersonal. If we want to indicate the object to which the transmitted information refers, we must use the personal infinitive. I.e:
É preciso (tu) arrumares o quarto. (It is necessary (you) to clean the room.)
Here we emphasize that it is “you” who should do it, and not someone else. We may or may not pronounce the pronoun. At the end of the personal infinitive, we determine who we are talking about.
É necessário eu/ele/ela/você abrir a porta. (I/he/she/you need to close the door).In this case, if we do not indicate the pronoun, then it is not at all clear to whom it refers. Since the forms of the personal pronoun for eu/ele/ela/você and the impersonal infinitive are the same, on the one hand, you can not think what kind of infinitive we are pronouncing, on the other hand, on the contrary, you can get confused and not convey the information incorrectly. For example, if we do not indicate the pronoun, our interlocutor may decide that you will “close the door”, and you wanted this from him.
Conclusion
Sometimes the simplest topic has its own nuances. Since our students come to school for deep knowledge, not superficial knowledge, we are happy to talk about all of them. Welcome!