Quero Que Você…: Use the Portuguese Subjunctive for Requests and Wishes — Practice

Use que when the person who wants and the person who acts differ

After quero que, Portuguese commonly uses the present subjunctive when the person expressing the wish and the person doing the next action are different. The subjunctive marks the action as desired or requested, not as a simple fact. For você, common forms include fale, venha, faça, and esteja.

Compare the subjects: eu quero sair means ‘I want to leave’—the same person wants and leaves. Eu quero que você saia means ‘I want you to leave’—the second clause has a different subject, so the subjunctive appears.

Build a useful request with other verbs of influence

The same pattern appears with requests, suggestions, and preferences: prefiro que você espere (I’d prefer you to wait), peço que vocês leiam (I ask you all to read), sugiro que ela ligue (I suggest that she call). The trigger and a different subject help you predict the form.

Do not put que between the same subject and its infinitive in the simple pattern: quero estudar, not quero que eu estude in an ordinary statement of your own wish. Portuguese has cases where a speaker uses the subjunctive with the same person for emphasis or a different meaning, but the infinitive is the useful default here.

Remember: Use an infinitive when you are the person who wants to do the action (quero sair). With quero que and a different subject, use the subjunctive (quero que você saia).

Check your understanding

Choose the English meaning of each Portuguese example. Answer before looking back at the tables. These questions check the written examples in this guide; they are not a listening or proficiency test.

Recall the Portuguese, then say it

Read the English prompt and say a Portuguese version before opening the answer. The answer shows the example from the lesson; other natural translations may also work. Compare the meaning and the situation rather than counting a different word as automatically wrong.

1. I want you to meet my friends.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Quero que você conheça meus amigos.

2. She wants us to arrive early.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Ela quer que a gente chegue cedo.

3. They want us to take a break.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Eles querem que nós façamos uma pausa.

4. I’d prefer you to let me know beforehand.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Prefiro que você me avise antes.

5. The manager asked everyone to wait.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   O gerente pediu que todos esperassem.

6. I want to learn to pronounce that word.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Quero aprender a pronunciar essa palavra.

Make the phrase useful to you

Choose one example you could actually use. Say it once from memory, then change one detail that fits your life, such as the person, place, time, or object. Check whether your change also needs a different verb form, article, or adjective ending. If it does, compare it with the pattern in the explanation.

Use an infinitive when you are the person who wants to do the action (quero sair). With quero que and a different subject, use the subjunctive (quero que você saia).

Return to two prompts tomorrow without opening the answers first. If a phrase still feels difficult, shorten it to a useful chunk and build the complete sentence again.

Sources and your next lesson

This I Speak Portuguese practice guide builds on our Quero Que Você…: Use the Portuguese Subjunctive for Requests and Wishes lesson on Real Life Portuguese, with written recall tasks and additional speaking practice. The explanations and examples are teaching material; the practice questions are exercises, not a transcript of a recording.

To add Brazilian audio to your routine, choose a lesson in the Real Life Portuguese app. The app offers its own lessons and practice; this page does not imply that every example here has an app recording.