Impersonal Constructions in Portuguese

In Brief

Portuguese uses é preciso/necessário/importante/possível + infinitive for general statements: É preciso estudar (“One must study”). To give the action its own specific subject, use que + subjunctive: É importante que estudes (“It is important that you study”). Há que + infinitive also expresses necessity, but usually sounds more formal.

Overview

Impersonal constructions let you discuss necessity, importance, possibility, difficulty, or advice without making a person the main subject. English often begins such sentences with a placeholder “it,” as in “It is important to listen.” Portuguese normally has no equivalent word before the verb: it simply says É importante ouvir. The third-person form é supplies the frame, but it does not refer to a person or thing.

This B1 topic brings together the infinitive (the basic verb form, such as estudar, “to study”) and the subjunctive (a set of verb forms used when an action is presented as required, possible, desired, or evaluated rather than asserted as a plain fact). The key choice is usually simple: use an infinitive for a general action, and use que + subjunctive when the following action has an explicit subject.

These patterns occur throughout Portuguese: in advice, instructions, public information, meetings, news reports, and everyday conversation. They also help you avoid translating English word for word. English “it” in “it is necessary” does not become ele or isso in Portuguese.

How It Works

General statements: expression + infinitive

Use an infinitive when the action applies generally or when its performer does not need to be named.

Portuguese pattern	Typical meaning	Example
é preciso + infinitive	it is necessary to; one must	É preciso estudar mais.
é necessário + infinitive	it is necessary to	É necessário reservar.
é importante + infinitive	it is important to	É importante aprender.
é possível + infinitive	it is possible to; one can	É possível entrar.
é melhor + infinitive	it is better to	É melhor esperar.
é fácil/difícil + infinitive	it is easy/difficult to	É difícil decidir.

The infinitive does not show tense or person here. Context tells you whether the advice concerns everyone, the listener, or a group already under discussion:

• É preciso ter paciência. — You/one must be patient.
• É importante chegar a horas. — It is important to arrive on time.
• É possível pagar com cartão? — Is it possible to pay by card?

English often prefers “you can” in practical questions, but Portuguese can keep the statement impersonal. É possível entrar por aqui? asks whether entry is possible, rather than directly asking whether a particular person has the ability to enter.

A named subject: que + subjunctive

If the second action has its own subject, put que before it and use the subjunctive verb form.

Structure	Portuguese	English
é preciso que + subjunctive	É preciso que todos participem.	Everyone must participate.
é necessário que + subjunctive	É necessário que ela assine.	She needs to sign.
é importante que + subjunctive	É importante que chegues cedo.	It is important that you arrive early.
é possível que + subjunctive	É possível que chova.	It may rain.
é melhor que + subjunctive	É melhor que esperemos.	It is better that we wait.

At B1, the following verb will most often be in the present subjunctive:

• estudar → que eu estude, que tu estudes, que ele/ela/você estude, que nós estudemos, que eles/elas/vocês estudem
• chegar → que eu chegue, que tu chegues, que ele/ela/você chegue, que nós cheguemos, que eles/elas/vocês cheguem

The English translation does not always look like a subjunctive. É preciso que saias agora can naturally be translated as “You need to leave now,” but Portuguese still uses saias, not the indicative sais.

Compare the two choices

General or unnamed performer	Explicit subject
É importante descansar. — It is important to rest.	É importante que descanses. — It is important that you rest.
É possível fazer a alteração. — It is possible to make the change.	É possível que eles façam a alteração. — They may make the change.
É necessário levar identificação. — It is necessary to bring ID.	É necessário que os visitantes levem identificação. — Visitors must bring ID.

The distinction is about sentence structure, not merely formality. The infinitive presents the action as a general activity. The que clause—an embedded part of the sentence with its own verb—makes its subject visible.

Negatives and questions

Put não before the impersonal expression:

• Não é preciso marcar. — There is no need to book.
• Não é possível entrar agora. — It is not possible to enter now.
• Não é importante que ele venha. — It is not important for him to come.

Be careful with English meaning: não é preciso means “it is not necessary” or “you do not need to.” It does not normally mean “you must not.” For prohibition, Portuguese uses forms such as não se pode, não deves, or é proibido, depending on the situation.

Questions keep the same word order and are marked by intonation and a question mark:

• É necessário imprimir o bilhete? — Is it necessary to print the ticket?
• É possível que estejam enganados? — Is it possible that they are mistaken?

Há que + infinitive

Há que + infinitive means “one must,” “we must,” or “it is necessary to.” It is fixed: há does not change for person or number.

• Há que ter cuidado. — One must be careful.
• Há que considerar todas as opções. — All the options must be considered.
• Há que reconhecer o erro. — We must acknowledge the mistake.

This há is historically the verb haver, just like existential há (“there is/there are”), but há que is a separate fixed pattern followed by an infinitive. It is especially at home in formal commentary, careful argument, journalism, and European Portuguese. In ordinary conversation, é preciso or temos de may sound more natural.

Examples in Context

Portuguese	English	Note
É preciso estudar mais.	One must study more.	General necessity
É possível entrar.	One can enter.	Feasibility or permission in context
É importante aprender com os erros.	It is important to learn from mistakes.	General principle
É necessário apresentar um documento de identificação.	It is necessary to show an identity document.	Formal instruction
É melhor sair antes das oito.	It is better to leave before eight.	General advice
É difícil encontrar casa nesta zona.	It is difficult to find a home in this area.	General difficulty
É importante que me avises com antecedência.	It is important that you let me know in advance.	Specific subject: “you”
É preciso que todos estejam prontos às nove.	Everyone must be ready at nine.	Todos is the subject of estejam
É possível que o comboio chegue atrasado.	The train may arrive late.	Possibility, not a stated fact
É necessário que os clientes guardem o recibo.	Customers need to keep the receipt.	Specific plural subject
Não é preciso trazer toalhas.	You do not need to bring towels.	Absence of necessity
É possível pagar em dinheiro?	Can I pay in cash?	Natural impersonal service question
Há que ter cuidado com estes dados.	One must be careful with this data.	Formal, general necessity
Há que encontrar uma solução duradoura.	We must find a lasting solution.	Formal argument or commentary

Common Mistakes

Adding an English-style subject

• Wrong: Ele é importante estudar todos os dias.
• Right: É importante estudar todos os dias.
• Why: English needs the placeholder “it,” but Portuguese does not use ele (“he/it”) in this construction.

Using the indicative after que

• Wrong: É preciso que tu estudas mais.
• Right: É preciso que tu estudes mais.
• Why: Necessity is presented as a requirement, so the verb after que takes the subjunctive, here estudes.

Leaving out que before a conjugated verb

• Wrong: É importante todos chegam cedo.
• Right: É importante que todos cheguem cedo.
• Why: A conjugated verb with its own subject needs a clause introduced by que. Alternatively, make the statement general: É importante chegar cedo.

Treating não é preciso as a prohibition

• Misleading: Não é preciso entrar for “You must not enter.”
• Right for “You need not enter”: Não é preciso entrar.
• Right for prohibition: É proibido entrar or Não se pode entrar.
• Why: Negating necessity removes an obligation; it does not forbid the action.

Conjugating há in há que

• Wrong: Hão que ter cuidado.
• Right: Há que ter cuidado.
• Why: Há que is an impersonal, fixed expression. Its há remains singular regardless of who is included in the meaning.

Making the adjective agree inside the impersonal frame

• Wrong: São necessárias estudar duas horas por dia.
• Right: É necessário estudar duas horas por dia.
• Why: When an infinitive or que clause follows, the impersonal frame normally stays in the singular masculine form: é necessário. Agreement becomes possible when an ordinary noun is the grammatical subject: São necessárias duas horas (“Two hours are necessary”).

Usage Notes

Preciso, necessário, and importante

É preciso is frequent and flexible in both speech and writing. É necessário often feels more official or explicit, making it common in regulations and instructions. They overlap, but é preciso can sound like practical advice while é necessário can sound like a stated requirement.

É importante evaluates an action rather than strictly obliging someone to perform it. Compare É importante responder (“Responding is important”) with É preciso responder (“A response is necessary”). Context can soften or strengthen either expression, but they are not exact synonyms.

Possibility is not always permission

É possível entrar? may function as a polite “Can I come in?” in context. Literally, however, é possível concerns possibility or feasibility. If permission is the main issue, Portuguese also commonly uses Posso entrar? (“May I come in?”) or impersonal Pode-se entrar? (“Is entry allowed?”).

With que + subjunctive, é possível usually expresses uncertainty:

• É possível que a Ana venha. — Ana may come.

A plain factual claim takes the indicative instead: A Ana vem amanhã (“Ana is coming tomorrow”).

Portuguese varieties and register

All the core é + expression patterns are used in European and Brazilian Portuguese. Pronoun and verb choices inside the que clause follow the variety being spoken: European Portuguese commonly uses tu estudes where tu is normal, while much of Brazil commonly uses você estude. This variation does not change the underlying subjunctive rule.

Há que is readily recognized across the Portuguese-speaking world but often sounds formal, rhetorical, or literary, particularly in Brazil. In conversation, speakers may prefer é preciso, tem de (especially European Portuguese), or tem que (very common in Brazilian Portuguese). Those personal constructions can name the responsible person: Tens de estudar or Você tem que estudar.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

The personal infinitive

Portuguese has a personal infinitive, an infinitive that can carry an ending showing who performs the action. This creates an additional option when a preposition or a larger sentence makes the performer clear:

• É importante estarmos preparados. — It is important for us to be prepared.
• É melhor saíres agora. — It is better for you to leave now.

Compare É importante que estejamos preparados. Both identify “us,” but the que + subjunctive version presents a full clause and often makes the evaluation or recommendation more prominent. The personal infinitive is compact and very characteristic of Portuguese. Its exact choice is a broader topic, but you should recognize it as a valid alternative—not assume that every named performer requires que.

Time changes the subjunctive

The present subjunctive fits present or future requirements and possibilities. When the impersonal expression is in the past, Portuguese often changes the following subjunctive too:

• Era necessário que todos chegassem cedo. — It was necessary for everyone to arrive early.
• Foi importante que ela tivesse contado a verdade. — It was important that she had told the truth.

Here chegassem is the imperfect subjunctive, and tivesse contado is a compound past subjunctive. You do not need these forms to apply the core B1 rule, but the governing principle remains the same: an evaluation, necessity, or possibility followed by a specific subject normally selects a subjunctive clause.

When agreement appears

Do not confuse the impersonal pattern with a sentence whose subject is a noun:

Impersonal clause	Ordinary noun subject
É necessária uma autorização? can be analysed with uma autorização as the subject.	São necessárias duas autorizações. — Two authorizations are necessary.
É necessário obter uma autorização. — It is necessary to obtain authorization.	The infinitive phrase keeps the usual impersonal é necessário frame.

With a following infinitive or que clause, é necessário is the safe standard form. With a noun subject, necessário agrees with that noun in gender and number.

Há que is not haver de

Keep há que + infinitive separate from haver de + infinitive. Há que agir gives an impersonal obligation: “Action must be taken.” Hei de voltar or havemos de resolver isto expresses intention, expectation, or determination (“I will come back”; “We will work this out”) and changes with the subject. The similarity in form does not make the constructions interchangeable.

Practice Tips

1. Build pairs. Start with a general sentence such as É importante descansar, then give it a subject: É importante que descanses. This trains both the structural choice and the subjunctive.
2. Sort real examples by meaning. When reading Portuguese notices or news, collect examples under “necessity,” “importance,” “possibility,” and “formal há que.” Notice whether each one uses an infinitive or que + subjunctive.
3. Practise useful negatives and questions. Make service and travel phrases such as É possível pagar com cartão? and Não é preciso reservar. These are more useful than memorizing isolated labels.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Há (there is/are) — introduces impersonal há, the form also found in the fixed expression há que.
• Next step: Present subjunctive — needed to form specific-subject clauses such as É importante que venhas.
• Next step: Personal infinitive — offers compact alternatives such as É importante estarmos preparados.