In standard Portuguese, the recommended form is “faz dois anos” when fazer expresses elapsed time. In this use, the verb is impersonal: the clause has no subject for the verb to agree with. The duration may therefore be plural — “dois anos”, “três meses”, “dez dias” — while the verb remains in the third-person singular.
Short answer: use “faz dois anos”
Compare:
| Construction | In standard Portuguese | Why? |
|---|---|---|
| Faz dois anos que moro aqui. | Recommended | Fazer expresses elapsed time and is impersonal. |
| Fazem dois anos que moro aqui. | Not recommended with this meaning | “Dois anos” is not the verb's subject; it is the elapsed duration. |
| Dois anos fazem diferença na aprendizagem. | Recommended | Here “dois anos” is the subject and fazer has another meaning: to produce/cause an effect. |
The difference, then, is not simply whether a plural expression comes after the verb. What matters is the meaning and syntactic structure of the clause.
Why doesn't “dois anos” make the verb plural?
In ordinary subject-verb agreement, the verb changes to match the subject: “o aluno fez o exercício”; “os alunos fizeram o exercício”. In “faz dois anos que...”, however, there is no subject “dois anos” performing an action. The expression measures the amount of time that has elapsed.
That is why grammars and writing manuals treat this use of fazer as an impersonal verb. The standard recommendation is to keep it in the third-person singular. The Brazilian Health Surveillance Secretariat writing manual, reproducing guidance from the Presidency's writing manual, records fazer meaning elapsed time in the singular. The Paraná State Finance School gives the same rule and notes that “fazem cinco anos” is not the expected agreement when elapsed time is meant.
A practical test: replace “faz” with “há”
When the sentence describes an interval already elapsed relative to the present, a useful test is to see whether faz can be replaced by há without changing the central meaning:
- Faz dois anos que moro aqui. → Há dois anos moro aqui.
- Faz muito tempo que não nos vemos. → Há muito tempo não nos vemos.
- Faz três semanas que o curso começou. → Há três semanas o curso começou.
If the substitution works, that is a strong sign that fazer is marking elapsed time and should therefore remain singular. The test is useful, but it should not be applied mechanically to every sentence: the temporal value must genuinely be elapsed duration.
The tense can change; the singular form remains
“Impersonal” does not mean that the verb must always be in the present tense. It can appear in other tenses as long as it remains in the third-person singular.
| Reference point | Example | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Present | Faz dois anos que trabalho aqui. | The interval extends up to the present. |
| Past | Naquela época, fazia dois anos que trabalhávamos ali. | The interval is calculated from a point in the past. |
| Completed milestone | Ontem fez dois anos que a loja abriu. | The two-year mark was reached yesterday. |
| Future | Em dezembro, fará dois anos que o projeto começou. | The interval will be completed in the future. |
Ciberdúvidas da Língua Portuguesa likewise shows that the temporal reference point can change: in a past context, fazia may be the appropriate form. What does not change is the lack of agreement with the duration expression.
What happens in verb phrases? The auxiliary stays singular too
When impersonal fazer appears in a verb phrase, its impersonality extends to the auxiliary. In standard Portuguese, prefer:
- Deve fazer dois anos que ele se mudou.
- Vai fazer três meses que começamos.
- Pode fazer dez dias que o sistema está fora do ar.
- Devia fazer muitas semanas que ninguém entrava na casa.
Forms such as “devem fazer dois anos” or “vão fazer três meses”, when the phrase merely expresses elapsed time, incorrectly treat the duration as though it were the subject.
When can “fazer” be plural?
Fazer is a very common verb and, in most of its other meanings, it is personal. When there is a subject, the verb agrees with that subject normally.
| Example | Why is the plural possible? |
|---|---|
| Os alunos fizeram dois exercícios. | “Os alunos” is the subject; fazer means to do/produce. |
| As crianças fizeram dois anos ontem. | “As crianças” is the subject; the sentence states the age they turned, not an impersonal elapsed-time clause. |
| Dois anos fazem diferença na formação. | “Dois anos” is the subject; fazer diferença means to have/produce an effect. |
| Essas medidas fazem sentido. | “Essas medidas” is the subject and controls agreement. |
This contrast avoids an oversimplified rule such as “the verb fazer is always singular.” It is not. It remains singular specifically when it is impersonal, as in elapsed-time expressions.
Three common mistakes and how to fix them
- “Fazem dois anos que não viajo.” For elapsed time, use “Faz dois anos que não viajo”.
- “Devem fazer dois meses que ele saiu.” If the verb phrase only expresses elapsed time, use “Deve fazer dois meses que ele saiu”.
- Applying the rule to every sentence containing “anos”. In “Dois anos fazem diferença”, there is a subject, so the plural is normal.
In formal edited writing, it is also useful to avoid stacking two equivalent past-time markers. Instead of “faz dois anos atrás”, prefer either “faz dois anos” or “dois anos atrás”, depending on the construction that fits the sentence best.
A decision path you can use without memorizing examples
- Ask what fazer means. Is the sentence measuring how much time has elapsed since an event?
- Look for a real subject. If no one or nothing is “doing” something and the expression only measures duration, the use is likely impersonal.
- Try replacing it with há when the reference point is the present: “faz dois anos” ↔ “há dois anos”.
- Keep the third-person singular even when the duration is plural: faz dois anos, fazia três meses, fará quatro semanas.
- In a verb phrase, keep the auxiliary singular: deve fazer, vai fazer, pode fazer.
- If there is a subject and fazer has another meaning, use normal agreement: “os alunos fizeram”, “dois anos fazem diferença”.
In one sentence
Use “faz dois anos” when you mean elapsed time, because in that use Portuguese fazer is impersonal and stays in the third-person singular. Use plural forms of fazer only when the construction has a subject and the verb is being used personally.
