Brazilian Portuguese Grammar

Adjective clauses

Orações subordinadas adjetivas

Portuguese adjective clauses (orações subordinadas adjetivas) make use of relative pronouns.

Please read the use of the relative pronouns before studying adjective clauses.

adjective clauses in blue

Relative pronoun	English	Example	English
que	who	Estavam falando da mulher que teve quadrigêmeos semana passada.	They were talking about the woman who had quadruplets last week.
que	that		They were talking about the woman that had quadruplets last week.
que	which	Esse é o cachorro que eu achei na rua.	That's the dog which I found on the streets.
que	that	Esse é o cachorro que eu achei na rua.	That's the dog that I found on the streets.
que	who	Dom Pedro I, que foi o primeiro imperador do Brasil, era português.	Dom Pedro I, who was the first emperor of Brazil, was Portuguese.
que	which	Portugal, que fica na Península Ibérica, é um país muito bonito.	Portugal, which lies in the Iberic Peninsula, is a very beautiful country.
preposition + que	who...preposition that...preposition omitted pronoun...preposition	Ricardo é o cara de quem estávamos falando.	Ricardo is the guy who we were talking about. Ricardo is the guy that we were talking about. Ricardo is the guy we were talking about.
preposition + o qual / a qual / os quais / as quais	who...preposition that...preposition omitted pronoun...preposition	Aquele é o jovem pelo qual elas estão apaixonadas. Do you remember the contractions below? por + o = pelo por + a = pela por + os = pelos por + as = pelas	That's the young man who they are in love with. That's the young man that they are in love with. That's the young man they are in love with.
	which...preposition that...preposition omitted pronoun...preposition	Aquela é a mesa sobre a qual o gato estava deitado.	That's the table which the cat was lying on. That's the table that the cat was lying on. That's the table the cat was lying on.
cujo also cuja, cujos, cujas	whose	Joana é a enfermeira cujo marido morreu durante a Guerra do Golfo.	Joana is the nurse whose husband died during the Gulf War.
cujo also cuja, cujos, cujas	of which	Comprei uma casa cujas portas são azuis.	I bought a house of which the doors are blue.
onde	where	O Brasil é o país onde Fernando Henrique Cardoso nasceu.	Brazil is the country where Fernando Henrique Cardoso nasceu.

There are some adjective clauses which aren't preceded by a clear antecedent, e.g.:
Onde quer que você esteja, estarei lá.		Wherever you are, I'll be there.
Quem quer que sejam, não os deixe entrar.		Whoever they are, don't let them in.