Modal Verbs in Portuguese: How to Express Necessity, Possibility & Ability

Modal verbs help us express necessity, possibility, certainty, doubt, and ability—concepts we use all the time in daily speech.

Think about the difference between these two English sentences:

You should study more. → Conveys advice or recommendation.
You must study more. → Expresses obligation.

Like in English, Portuguese modal verbs add nuance and precision to speech, making your sentences clearer and more natural.

Now, mastering modal verbs in Portuguese isn’t just about translating them word-for-word. The verb poder, for example, can correspond to the English modals can, could, or may, depending on the context.

Likewise, can in English may be expressed with poder, conseguir, or even saber in Portuguese—each carrying subtle differences in meaning and use.

Below is a breakdown of English modal verbs and their closest Portuguese equivalents. As you’ll see, the relationships aren’t always one-to-one:

ENGLISH MODALS	PORTUGUESE EQUIVALENTS
Can	Poder, Conseguir, Dar
Could	Poder, Conseguir
Must/have to	Ter que, Precisar de, Poder, Dever
May/might	Dever, Poder, (also the expressions talvez, se calhar)
Should	Dever

Let’s dive in.

Can

In English, the modal verb can expresses possibility, permission, or ability. In Portuguese, we commonly use poder to indicate possibility or permission and conseguir to express ability—the capability to do something.

Poder > Possibility & Permission

The verb poder is used when talking about what is possible or what is allowed. Here’s how we conjugate poder in the Present tense:

	Poder
eu	posso
tu	podes
ele, ela, você	pode
nós	podemos
vocês	podem
eles, elas	podem

Here are a few examples:

Se quiseres podemos ir ao quarto para tomar um duche.
If you want, we can go to our room and take a shower.

Posso fumar aqui?
Can I smoke here?

Não podes fazer tudo o que queres.
You can’t do everything you want.

Conseguir > Ability

To express ability—the capability to do or achieve something—we use the verb conseguir. Unlike poder, which can express both possibility and permission, conseguir is specifically used for ability.

Here’s how we conjugate conseguir in the Present tense:

	Conseguir
eu	consigo
tu	consegues
ele, ela, você	consegue
nós	conseguimos
vocês	conseguem
eles, elas	conseguem

A few examples:

Conseguimos ver o mar do quarto do hotel.
We can see the sea from the hotel room.

– Falta-te a faca, queres que te vá buscar uma?
– Não importa, eu consigo comer só com o garfo. 
– You’re missing a knife. Should I fetch you one?
– Never mind, I can eat with just a fork.

The verb conseguir has a narrower usage than poder and is only used to express ability. However, because poder is more flexible, it can often—but not always—replace conseguir:

✅Adoro-te! Não me consigo imaginar sem ti.
✅Adoro-te! Não me posso  imaginar sem ti.
I love you! I can’t imagine myself without you. 

In this case, both poder and conseguir work, but conseguir emphasizes personal ability, while poder feels slightly more general.

Complementary read. Poder vs. Conseguir in Portuguese – Tease Them Apart.

Dar > A wild card

Before moving on to the next modal verb, I want to highlight that you can often replace both poder and conseguir with the verb dar, followed by the preposition para. This structure is commonly used in spoken Portuguese to express possibility or ability more casually.

Asking for permission:

✅ Posso fumar aqui?
✅ Dá para fumar aqui?
Can I smoke here?

Expressing ability:

✅ Conseguimos ver o mar do quarto do hotel.
✅ Dá para ver o mar do quarto do hotel.
We can see the sea from the hotel room.

💡 Did you know? The verb dar is one of the most versatile verbs in Portuguese, appearing in many idiomatic expressions. If you want to explore more of its uses, check out this article: The Portuguese verb ‘dar’: usage and idiomatic expressions.

Could

Could is often the past form of can, but it also conveys possibility, permission, and polite requests. Let’s break down its Portuguese equivalents.

Poder > There Was the Possibility

To express possibility in the past, we’ll now be using poder in the Imperfect tense:

	Conseguir (Pretérito Imperfeito)
eu	podia
tu	podias
ele, ela você	podia
nós	podíamos
vocês	podiam
eles, elas	podiam

In Portuguese, there are two simple Past tenses: P. Perfeito and Imperfeito. Learn more about their differences: P. Perfeito vs. Imperfeito Tense: Know When to Use Which.

Here are a couple of examples:

Tu sabias que ela não fala Inglês. Não podias falar Português?
You knew she didn’t speak any English. Couldn’t you have spoken Portuguese?

Antigamente podia-se fumar nos restaurants.
In the old days, you could smoke in restaurants. 

Conseguir > There Was the Ability

To express ability in the past, we will now be using conseguir conjugated in the Imperfect tense:

	Conseguir  (Pretérito Imperfeito)
eu	conseguia
tu	conseguias
ele, ela  você	conseguia
nós	conseguíamos
vocês	conseguiam
eles, elas	conseguiam

A few examples:

O meu irmão conseguia falar cinco línguas. 
My brother could speak five languages. 

Quando era novo conseguia suster a respiração durante mais de dois minutos. 
When I was younger, I could hold my breath for more than two minutes.

Poder > There Is a Possibility Ahead

Could is also used to talk about possible actions in the present or future, especially when making suggestions. In Portuguese, we can use poder in the Imperfect tense to make the suggestion sound more hypothetical or polite:

– O que vamos fazer hoje à tarde?
– Podíamos ir ao cinema.
– What are we doing this afternoon?
– We could go to the cinema.

– Quando vieres a Portugal no próximo mês podias ficar em minha casa.
– When you come to Portugal next month, you could stay at my place.

Of course, you could also use can in this context, which makes the statement sound less hypothetical and more direct. In that case, we switch poder to the Present tense:

– O que vamos fazer hoje à tarde?
– Podemos ir ao cinema.
– What are we doing this afternoon?
– We can go to the cinema.

Poder > Hypothetical Possibilities

We also use could to express whether something would be possible or acceptable in a hypothetical situation. In Portuguese, this is done using poder in the Imperfect tense:

Não podia trabalhar mais de 30 horas por semana.
I couldn’t work more than 30 hours a week.

Nós também podíamos viver felizes no campo.
I could also live happily in the countryside.

Poder > Wishful thinking

Like could, the verb poder is used to talk about hypothetical or unrealistic desires. Once again, we use poder in the Imperfect tense:

Adoro Lisboa. Podia ficar lá a viver para sempre.
I love Lisbon. I could stay there forever.

Este filme é o máximo. Podia vê-lo mil vezes.
This movie is awesome. I could watch it a thousand times.

We also use could/poder to express unrealistic situations in the past:

Estava tão cansado que podia ter dormido durante uma semana inteira.
I was so exhausted that I could have slept for a whole week.

In the last example, the structure is similar in both Portuguese and English:
The auxiliary verb (poder/could in the past), followed by ter/have in the infinitive, and the past participle* of the main verb.

* Learn more about the Portuguese Past Participle in this article: Portuguese Past Participle and Auxiliary Verbs that Go with It.

Poder > It could happen … 

We also use could and poder to talk about sudden changes that might happen now or in the future. In this case, poder is used in the Present tense:

Neste momento reina a paz, mas a guerra pode eclodir a qualquer momento.
There is peace right now, but the war could break out at any moment. 

O tempo está bom agora mas pode mudar rapidamente.
It is fair weather now, but it could change quickly. 

Must

We use must or have to to express necessity or obligation. These expressions are often interchangeable.

Ter que / Ter de > Obligation (Necessity)

To express necessity or obligation in Portuguese, we use the verb ter followed by que or de. Both forms mean the same thing and are equally common.

Here’s how ter is conjugated:

		Ter
	(Presente)	(Pretérito Perfeito)
eu	tenho	tive
tu	tens	tiveste
ele, ela  você	tem	teve
nós	temos	tivemos
vocês	têm	tiveram
eles, elas	têm	tiveram

A few examples:

Tenho que ir embora agora.
I must leave now.

Tens de aceitar os factos.
You have to accept the facts.

Again, you can say ter que or ter de—both are interchangeable. Here’s another example referring to the future: 

Perdi o meu telemóvel. Vou ter de comprar um novo.
I lost my mobile. I’ll have to buy a new one.

Here, we use vou ter de, similar to the English I’m going to have to.

And now an example referring to the past:

O tempo era pouco, tivemos que nos despachar. 
We were short on time, so we had to hurry up.

In this case, ter is conjugated in the Pretérito Perfeito (Preterite).

Auxiliary verbs in Portuguese are often followed by prepositions. Ter (meaning ‘must’) is followed by de, while other auxiliary verbs take a. Learn more here: Common Auxiliary Verbs in Portuguese.

Poder vs. Ter que > Mustn’t vs. Don’t have to 

In English, mustn’t and don’t have to have different meanings. Here’s how they translate into Portuguese:

Vou-te dizer o meu segredo, mas não podes contar a ninguém.
I will tell you my secret, but you mustn’t tell anyone.

Notice that we use poder, not ter que, to say that someone mustn’t do something. Let’s now look at the equivalent of don’t have to:

✅ Não tenho que te contar a minha vida, pois não?
I don’t have to tell you about my life, do I?
✅ Não preciso de contar a minha vida, pois não?
I don’t need to tell you about my life, do I?

Notice that the two alternatives above represent subtle variations, thus meaning nearly the same thing: Ter que expresses obligation, whereas precisar de conveys necessity. 

However, in most cases, they can be used interchangeably. Another example:

✅ Tenho que ir à casa de banho.
I have to go to the restroom.
✅ Preciso de ir à casa de banho.
I need to go to the restroom.

Dever > Expressing Likelihood

In English, must is used to express a strong belief or certainty. In Portuguese, we often use the auxiliary verb dever:

		Dever
	(Presente)	(Pretérito Imperfeito)
eu	devo	devia
tu	deves	devias
ele, ela  você	deve	devia
nós	devemos	devíamos
vocês	devem	deviam
eles, elas	devem	deviam

Here are a few examples:

Tu vais para Nova Iorque amanhã. Deves estar excitado.
You are going to New York tomorrow. You must be excited.

A Joana deve estar aborrecida com trabalho dela. É sempre o mesmo todos os dias. 
Joana must be bored with her job. She does the same thing every day.

In the past, we use a similar structure as in English: dever (present) + ter (infinitive) + main verb (past participle):

– Não está ninguém em casa.
– Devem ter saído.
– There’s nobody at home.
– They must have gone out.

We also use dever in the Imperfect tense followed by the main verb in the infinitive to express likelihood in the past:

– Nós vivíamos junto ao aeroporto.
– Ai sim? Devia ser barulhento.
– We used to live by the airport.
– Did you? It must have been noisy.

May, Might, and Maybe

In English, may and might express a possibility—something we believe could be true but with a significant degree of uncertainty. In Portuguese, we often use the auxiliary verb poder in this context.

Additionally, we can express uncertainty using the adverbs se calhar and talvez, just as English uses maybe.

Poder > Chances Are

When something is possible but far from certain, poder is commonly used:

– Sabes onde está a Rita?
– Não sei, mas pode estar no quarto dela.
– Do you know where Rita is?
– I don’t, but she might be in her room.

– Acho estranho que o Paulo ainda não tenha chegado.
– Pode ter adormecido.
– I wonder why Paulo hasn’t arrived yet.
– He might have overslept.

Se calhar > Maybe

Now, let’s replace poder with the adverb se calhar:

– Sabes onde está a Rita?
– Não sei, mas se calhar está no quarto dela.
– Do you know where Rita is?
– I don’t, but perhaps she is in her room.

– Acho estranho que o Paulo ainda não tenha chegado.
– Se calhar adormeceu.
– I wonder why Paulo hasn’t arrived yet.
– Maybe he overslept.

Both se calhar and talvez mean maybe, but talvez requires the verb to be in the subjunctive mode:

– Sabes onde está a Rita?
– Não sei, mas talvez esteja no quarto dela.
– Do you know where Rita is?
– I don’t, but perhaps she is in her room. 

Should

In English, should is used to give advice or express expectations. Let’s look at its Portuguese equivalents.

Dever > Giving Advice 

When giving advice in Portuguese, we use dever in the Imperfect tense (Pretérito Imperfeito).

Tu estás cansado, devias fazer uma pausa.
You look tired, you should take a break.

– Achas que devíamos começar a ir para a cama mais cedo?
– Sim, acho que devíamos.
– Do you think we should start going to bed earlier?
– Yes. I think we should.

Devias pedir desculpa.
You should apologize.

To express should have, we use dever + ter + the past participle:

Perdeste um grande jantar ontem. Devias ter vindo.
You missed a great dinner yesterday. You should have come.

Sinto-me um autêntico idiota! Não devia ter dito aquilo. 
I feel like such an idiot! I shouldn’t have said those things.

Dever > Expectation

We also use should in English to express an expectation. In Portuguese, this is done with dever in the Present tense:

O comboio deve chegar às 6 da tarde.
The train should arrive at 6 pm.

A Paula deve ir embora amanhã à tarde.
Paula should leave tomorrow afternoon.

Dever > Something Is Not as It Should Be

We also use should to indicate that something is not quite right. In Portuguese, this is expressed with dever in the Imperfect tense (Pretérito Imperfeito):

Este preço está errado. Deviam ser $23.
This price tag is wrong. It should be $23.

Onde está o Pedro? Ele já devia cá estar.
Where’s Pedro? He should be here by now.