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The Portuguese personal infinitive in context

Answer in brief

The personal infinitive is an infinitive that can have endings indicating its subject. Learn it in a complete sentence, because the choice between forms depends on the construction.

Examples show patterns, not a rule for every speaker.

By Jibber Jabber · Updated

An example

É melhor sairmos agora means “It is better for us to leave now.” The ending -mos indicates we in sairmos.

What to notice

The infinitive falar has forms including falares, falarmos and falarem. The first and third person singular have the same form as the uninflected infinitive, so context helps identify the subject.

Try it

When you see an unfamiliar infinitive ending, identify who performs the action. Then compare the sentence with a grammar reference instead of applying the ending to every infinitive.

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Sources for this entry

  1. Related Jibber Jabber guide Our related language or product guide.

Continue this reading path

  1. A gente and nós: two ways to say we
  2. Portuguese gerund and a + infinitive

Connected entries

A gente and nós: two ways to say we → Portuguese gerund and a + infinitive → Learn Portuguese from Spanish with comprehensible input →

How the related sites connect

This guide is one of a coordinated collection of comprehensible input guides published by Jibber Jabber. They share one publisher and are not independent endorsements. See the related websites and the Jibber Jabber profile.

Cite this entry

Jibber Jabber. "The Portuguese personal infinitive in context." Comprehensible Input Portuguese, updated 2026-11-09. https://comprehensibleinputportuguese.com/personal-infinitive/