Editing Portuguese language (section)

== Grammar ==
{{Main|Portuguese grammar}}

A notable aspect of the grammar of Portuguese is the verb. Morphologically, more verbal inflections from classical Latin have been preserved by Portuguese than by any other major [[Romance language]]. Portuguese and Spanish share very similar grammar, vocabulary and sentence structure. Portuguese also has some grammatical innovations not found in other Romance languages (except Galician and Fala):
* The [[present perfect]] has an iterative sense unique to the Galician–Portuguese language group. It denotes an action or a series of actions that began in the past but expected to occur again in the future. For instance, the sentence ''Tenho tentado falar contigo'' would be translated to "I have been trying to talk to you", not "I have tried to talk to you." On the other hand, the correct translation of "Have you heard the latest news?" is not ''*Tens ouvido as últimas?'' but ''Ouviste as últimas?'' since no repetition is implied.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Verbal Periphrases in Romance: Aspect, Actionality, and Grammaticalization |last=Squartini |first=Mario |publisher=Mouton de Gruyter |year=1998 |isbn=978-3-11-016160-1 |location=Berlin |oclc=39007172}}</ref>
* Portuguese makes use of the future [[subjunctive mood]], which developed from medieval [[West Iberian languages|West Iberian Romance]]. In modern Spanish and Galician, it has almost entirely fallen into disuse. The future subjunctive appears in dependent clauses that denote a condition that must be fulfilled in the future so that the independent clause will occur. English normally employs the present tense under the same circumstances:

:''Se eu ''for'' eleito presidente, mudarei a lei.''
:If ''I am'' elected president, I will change the law.

:''Quando ''fores'' mais velho, vais entender.''
:When ''you grow'' older, you will understand.
* The personal [[infinitive]] can [[inflection|inflect]] according to its subject in [[Grammatical person|person]] and [[Grammatical number|number]]. It often shows who is expected to perform a certain action. ''É melhor voltares'' "It is better [for you] to go back", ''É melhor voltarmos'' "It is better [for us] to go back." Perhaps for that reason, infinitive clauses replace subjunctive clauses more often in Portuguese than in other Romance languages.