A2 (Elementary)Lesson 9: Basic Clause Patterns & Everyday Usage
Portuguese sentences usually organize information around a subject and a predicate, but word order is flexible enough to move time, place, or emphasis to the front.
Default order: subject + verb + complements
Time/place can come first
Subject omission is common when the context is clear
subject + verb + complements / adjuncts + verb + subject
Sign up to save your progress, practice exercises and unlock all grammar content.
The subject is who or what the sentence is about. The predicate says something about that subject.
The most common order is subject + verb + complements: "A professora chegou cedo".
Time and place often move to the front without changing the basic meaning: "Hoje a professora chegou cedo".
Portuguese also allows subject omission when the verb form or context already makes the subject clear.
A sentence may have no clear lexical subject with weather or impersonal verbs: "Choveu", "Tem gente aqui".
Inversion often sounds natural after fronted adverbs and in news-style sentences.
| Portuguese | Meaning |
|---|---|
| A professora chegou cedo. | The teacher arrived early. |
| Hoje a professora chegou cedo. | Today the teacher arrived early. |
| No Brasil muita gente trabalha em casa. | In Brazil many people work from home. |
| Chegou o ônibus. | The bus arrived. |
| Choveu ontem. | It rained yesterday. |
| Hoje ele trabalha aqui. | Today he works here. |
| No fim a gente falou disso. | In the end we talked about that. |
Inversion is common in headlines, storytelling, and after fronted elements.
Some sentences are impersonal and do not behave like ordinary subject-verb clauses.
Get full access to grammar lessons, exercises, vocabulary and personalized review with a free Falando account.
