Feelings that call for the subjunctive: fear, likes, regret and surprise
When you react emotionally to what someone else does, Portuguese puts that other person's action in the subjunctive. Verbs of fear, liking, dislike, regret and surprise all do this: ter medo que, gostar que, odiar que, lamentar que, surpreender. The feeling may be yours, but the event it reacts to is presented as something you are evaluating, not as a plain fact you are reporting.
English speakers trip over this because English uses the ordinary indicative here: I'm afraid he won't come, I hate that they interrupt me. Even when the event is 100% real (the house really is clean, he really didn't call), Portuguese still wants the subjunctive after an emotion verb.
Word list
felizA1happyfico feliz que + subjunctivegostarA1to likegosto que + subjunctivesinto muitoA1sorrysinto muito que + subjunctivetristeA1sadfico triste que + subjunctiveadorarA2to loveadoro que + subjunctivecontenteA2happyfico contente que + subjunctivedetestarA2to hatedetesto que + subjunctiveestar com medoA2to fearestou com medo de que + subjunctiveodiarA2to hateodeio que + subjunctivepreocupadomA2worriedestou preocupado que + subjunctivepreocupar-seA2to worrypreocupo-me que + subjunctivesurpreenderA2to surprisesurpreende-me que + subjunctivesurpreendidomA2surprisedfico surpreendido que + subjunctivesurpresomA2surprisedestou surpreso que + subjunctiveter medoA2to fearter medo (de) que + subjunctiveaborrecerB1to disturbaborrece-me que + subjunctivecontenteB1satisfiedestou contente que + subjunctivedececionarB1to disappointdececiona-me que + subjunctivedecepcionarB1to disappointdecepciona-me que + subjunctivedesapontarB1to disappointdesaponta-me que + subjunctiveenvergonhar-seB1to be ashamedenvergonho-me de que + subjunctiveestar com vergonhaB1to be ashamedestou com vergonha de que + subjunctiveincomodarB1to disturbincomoda-me que + subjunctiveirritarB1to disturbirrita-me que + subjunctiveorgulhosomB1proudestou orgulhoso de que + subjunctivesatisfeitomB1satisfiedestou satisfeito que + subjunctivesentir vergonhaB1to be ashamedsinto vergonha de que + subjunctivetemerB1to feartemo que + subjunctiveter vergonhaB1to be ashamedtenho vergonha de que + subjunctiveagradecerB2to appreciateagradeço que + subjunctivealiviadomB2relievedfico aliviado que + subjunctiveassustarB2to scareassusta-me que + subjunctivedar medoB2to scaredá-me medo que + subjunctiveencantarB2to enchantencanta-me que + subjunctivelamentarB2to regretlamento que + subjunctiveperturbarB2to disturbperturba-me que + subjunctivepreocuparB2to worrypreocupa-me que + subjunctiverecearB2to fearreceio que + subjunctiveenvergonharC1to embarrassenvergonha-me que + subjunctivefascinarC1to fascinatefascina-me que + subjunctive
How it works
The pattern has three parts: an emotion verb, que, and a second clause with a different subject whose verb goes into the subjunctive. Present emotion takes the present subjunctive. Past emotion usually takes the imperfect subjunctive.
Tenho medo que ele não venha.
(I'm afraid that he won't come.)
Tive medo que ele não viesse.
(I was afraid that he wouldn't come.)
Rule of thumb: if you could add and that makes me feel... to the sentence, the verb after que goes into the subjunctive.
The words
Fear
ter medo and estar com medo are the everyday options. Both can take de que, and in speech the de is often dropped. temer and recear are more formal and link directly with que. recear is also a polite way to announce bad news.
Estou com medo de que a gente se perca.
(I'm afraid we'll get lost.)
Temo que seja tarde demais.
(I fear it may be too late.)
Receio que não haja lugares livres.
(I'm afraid there aren't any free seats.)
Liking and disliking
gostar, adorar, odiar and detestar all call for the subjunctive when they react to someone else's action. With gostar, the de it normally needs is usually dropped before que.
Gosto que a casa esteja limpa.
(I like the house to be clean.)
Adoro que os meus filhos leiam antes de dormir.
(I love that my kids read before bed.)
Odeio que me interrompam quando estou a falar.
(I hate it when people interrupt me while I'm talking.)
detestar que works exactly like odiar que: Detesto que cheguem atrasados.
Regret and surprise
lamentar in the sense of regret, and the set phrase sinto muito, express sympathy or apology about what happened to someone. surpreender flips the structure: the que clause is the subject, and the surprised person is the object pronoun. It is subjunctive all the same.
Lamento que não possa vir à festa.
(I'm sorry you can't come to the party.)
Sinto muito que tenha perdido o emprego.
(I'm so sorry you lost your job.)
Surpreende-me que ele ainda não tenha ligado.
(I'm surprised he still hasn't called.)
Watch out
Same subject, no que
If the person who feels the emotion is also the one doing the action, use an infinitive instead of a clause. You don't say tenho medo que eu saia.
Tenho medo de sair sozinho à noite.
(I'm afraid of going out alone at night.)
Sentir que does not call for the subjunctive
When sentir que means to sense or to have a feeling that something is true, it reports a perception and takes the indicative. Only the regret phrase sinto muito que takes the subjunctive.
Sinto que ele está triste.
(I sense that he's sad.)
Lamentar without que
Before a noun, lamentar can also mean to mourn someone. That use has no clause and no subjunctive. The typical learner mistake is simply copying English: Tenho medo que ele não vem sounds wrong to native ears, so train yourself to reach for venha. Verbs of hoping and wishing, like esperar or alegrar-se, work in a similar way and are covered in their own articles.
Summary
When an emotion verb such as ter medo, gostar, odiar, lamentar, sinto muito or surpreender reacts to what someone else does, put the verb after que in the subjunctive, even if the event is a known fact. If there is only one subject, use an infinitive instead. Don't confuse any of these with sentir que meaning to sense, which keeps the indicative.
Feelings that call for the subjunctive: fear, likes, regret and surprise