B1 · Verb + infinitive
Verb + de + infinitive
« I have just arrived » is a verb here, not an adverb.
At a glance
- Remember
- What stops or pleases takes de.
- Form
- deixou de fumarto stop
- Signal words
- deixar de
- parar de
- acabar de
- gostar de
- esquecer-se de
- desistir de
- ter medo de
- Trap
- Wrong:Acabo de ler o livro ontem.Right:Acabei de ler o livro ontem.
Your turn
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The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Portuguese. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) person ending
| to stop | deixou de fumar |
| to have just | acabo de chegar |
| to forget | esqueci-me de fechar |
| to like | gosto de ler à noite |
| to let, with no de | deixei-o dormir |
| I have just arrived | (eu) acabo de chegar |
| you have just arrived | (tu) acabas de chegar |
| he / she has just arrived, you have just arrived (você) | (ele, ela, você) acaba de chegar |
| we have just arrived | (nós) acabamos de chegar |
| you have just arrived, plural (elevated) | (vós) acabais de chegar |
| they have just arrived, you have just arrived (vocês) | (eles, elas, vocês) acabam de chegar |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
The verbs of stopping take de.
Deixou de fumar no ano passado.He gave up smoking last year.
acabar de plus infinitive means to have just done it.
Acabo de falar com ela.I have just spoken to her.
gostar takes de, an infinitive included.
Gosto de ler à noite.I like reading in the evening.
deixar without de is to let, with de it is to stop.
Deixei-o dormir mais um bocado.I let him sleep a little longer.
Example sentences
Esqueci-me de fechar a janela.I forgot to close the window.
Acabámos de chegar do aeroporto.We have just got back from the airport.
Desistiu de esperar e foi-se embora.He gave up waiting and left.
Tenho medo de dizer alguma asneira.I am afraid of saying something silly.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Acabar de has two readings. In the present and the imperfeito it almost always means « to have just »: acabo de chegar, « I have just arrived ». In the past it can mean the same — acabei de chegar is very common in everyday speech — or « to finish »: acabei de ler o livro, « I finished the book ». Which one is meant, the context says. With a past time word such as « yesterday », only the past will do.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
The de group is the counterpart of the a group: something ends, is left undone, or is being judged. Stopping and leaving off — deixar de, parar de, esquecer-se de, desistir de. Liking and fearing — gostar de, cansar-se de, ter medo de.
One of them carries a meaning you would never guess from the words. Acabar de plus an infinitive means to have just done something: acabo de chegar is « I have just arrived ». English says this with an adverb tucked inside a perfect tense; Portuguese says it with a verb, and the tense is a plain present.
So the English sentence has three moving parts — have, just, arrived — and the Portuguese one has two, neither of which means « just ». Reading acabo de as « I finish » gives a sentence that is grammatical and says the wrong thing.
And deixar de means to stop, while deixar without de means to let: deixei de fumar against deixei-o fumar. One preposition is the difference between giving up smoking and letting somebody else smoke.
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The verbs on this page, in every form: deixar · acabar · ter · dizer · chegar · falar · fechar · ler