Brazilian Portuguese Grammar

Restrictive adjective clauses and the subjunctive mood

Orações adjetivas restritivas e o modo subjuntivo

Restrictive adjective clauses may be introduced by verbs in the indicative or in the subjunctive mood, but they don't bear the same meaning, e.g.:

Verbs in the subjunctive mood have been highlighted in green Verbs in the indicative mood have been highlighted in yellow
Preciso encontrar alguém que fale português.	I need to find someone that might speak Portuguese.
Preciso encontrar alguém que fala português.	I need to find someone that speaks Portuguese.

As you can see, the difference between them lies in the degree of likelihood or centainty the speaker wishes to express. One may also say that the difference is the first sentence means I need to find anyone that speaks Portuguese, while the second stands for I need to find the one who speaks it. I feel there's some overlapping between the ideas of likelihood/certainty and definiteness.

The speaker's opinions, thoughts and beliefs may also sound more neutral when the subjunctive mood is used in noun clauses after verbs achar (to think), acreditar (to believe) and pensar (to think):

Verbs in the subjunctive mood have been highlighted in green Verbs in the indicative mood have been highlighted in yellow
Achei que você tinha se esquecido do meu aniversário.	I thought that you had forgotten my birthday.
Achei que você tivesse se esquecido do meu aniversário.	I thought that you might have forgotten my birthday.
Acredito que ele é um homem honesto.	I believe that he is an honest man.
Acredito que ele seja um homem honesto.	I believe that he may be an honest man.
Pensamos que ela estava morta.	We thought that she was dead.
Pensamos que ela estivesse morta.	We thought she might have been dead.