Conjunctions and adverbs

Conjunctions and adverbs are two very different word classes that share one decisive function: giving cohesion to the sentence and to the text. A conjunction joins — clauses, or terms with the same function; an adverb modifies — a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or a whole sentence. We treat them together because, in practice, these are the words that articulate reasoning: e (and), mas (but), embora (although), já (already), talvez (perhaps).

Coordinating conjunctions

These coordinate terms or clauses of the same syntactic level, with neither depending on the other. Five values are distinguished:

Value	Typical conjunctions	Example
Copulative	e, nem, não só… mas também	Chove e faz frio. (It rains and it is cold.)
Adversative	mas, porém, contudo, todavia, no entanto	Estudou, mas não passou. (He studied but failed.)
Disjunctive	ou, ou… ou, ora… ora	Vens ou ficas? (Are you coming or staying?)
Conclusive	logo, portanto, por conseguinte	Penso, logo existo. (I think, therefore I am.)
Explanatory	pois, porque, que	Não saias, que está tarde. (Don’t go out, for it is late.)

Subordinating conjunctions

These introduce a clause that depends on another, marking the logical relation between the two. The complementisers (que, se — “that”, “whether”) merely embed a clause in the position of a complement; the rest express circumstances:

• causal — porque, visto que, já que, como (because, since, as);
• conditional — se, caso, a não ser que, salvo se (if, unless);
• concessive — embora, ainda que, mesmo que, conquanto (although, even if);
• final — para que, a fim de que (so that, in order that);
• temporal — quando, enquanto, logo que, assim que, mal (when, while, as soon as);
• comparative — como, (tal) qual, (do) que (as, like, than);
• consecutive — que, correlated with tão, tanto, tal (so… that).

Many of these conjunctions govern the subjunctive, above all the concessive, final and hypothetical conditional ones — a point on which Portuguese is unusually demanding.

The classes of the adverb

The adverb is, as a rule, invariable. Grammars group it by semantic value:

• manner — bem, mal, depressa, devagar, assim (well, badly, fast, slowly), and almost all words ending in -mente;
• time — hoje, ontem, já, ainda, sempre, nunca, cedo, tarde (today, yesterday, already, still, always, never, early, late);
• place — aqui, aí, ali, cá, lá, acolá, perto, longe (here, there, near, far);
• quantity and degree — muito, pouco, bastante, demasiado, tão, quase (much, little, rather, too, so, almost);
• affirmation — sim, certamente, decerto (yes, certainly);
• negation — não, nunca, jamais, nem (not, never, neither);
• doubt — talvez, porventura, acaso (perhaps, maybe).

Several adverbs admit degree: cedo → cedíssimo (very early), perto → mais perto (nearer). The adverbs of place keep, in European Portuguese, a three-way deictic system parallel to the demonstratives: aqui/cá (by me), aí (by you), ali/acolá (away from both).

The -mente formation

The most productive way to coin adverbs of manner is to add the suffix -mente to the feminine form of the adjective: clara → claramente (clearly), feliz → felizmente (fortunately). The suffix comes from the Latin noun mente (“with [this] disposition of mind”), which is why, when two or more such adverbs are coordinated, -mente appears only on the last: falou clara e objetivamente (“she spoke clearly and objectively”).

Note that -mente does not shift the stress of the base adjective: the resulting word carries, in effect, two prosodic anchors, the main one on the suffix [ˈmẽt(ɨ)] .

Conjunctions, adverbs and discourse connectors

The boundary between the two classes is sometimes thin. Words such as portanto (therefore), contudo (yet), além disso (besides) or no entanto (however) behave as connective adverbs (sentence connectors): they link whole sentences, like a conjunction, but have the mobility of an adverb and are set off by commas. They are the mortar of argumentative prose, signalling addition, contrast, cause, consequence or conclusion.

Position in the sentence

A conjunction sits in a fixed place: it opens the clause it introduces. The adverb is far more mobile, and its position can change the meaning. Só ele falou (“only he spoke”, no one else) is not the same as Ele só falou (“he only spoke”, did nothing else). Sentence adverbs — felizmente, provavelmente, talvez — lean toward the start; note that talvez placed before the verb requires the subjunctive: talvez venha, not talvez vem.