To say, would you add an ia to the verb’s infinitive. The irregulars are not that difficult to learn.
Ele trabalharia hoje mas... (He would work today but...)
O que ele diria? (What would he say?)
Eu falaria, sim. (I would say, yes.)
Use this tense to talk about things that are uncertain to happen: in the future.
Me liga quando você chegar. (Call me when you arrive.)
Se eu ver ela te aviso. (If I see her I'll let you know.)
Assim que comprar um carro vou lá. (As soon as I buy a car I'll go there.)
Words that almost always trigger this tense:
quando + verb (when you…)
se + verb (if you…)
assim que (as soon as…)
Post: the Future Subjunctive
> For AR regular verbs you just replace the a with an e.
> For ER & IR regular verbs you just replace the e with an a.
-ar regular verbs
| Tell me everything! | Me cont | e tudo! |
| Stop! | Par | e |
| Think again! | Pens | e bem! |
-er and -ir regular verbs
| Get out of here! | Sum | a daqui! |
| Open this door! | Abr | a essa porta! |
| Learn this! | Aprend | a isso! |
| Answer me! | Me respond | a! |
esperar > Me espera! (Wait for me!)
olhar > Olha só! (Just look!)
escutar > Escuta! (Listen!)
tirar > Tira sua mão! (Hands off!)
falar > Fala tu! (Talk to me!)
ligar > Me liga! (Call me!)
The imperfect indicative is used when talking about continuous or ongoing action in the past. Something that used to happen or, would (always) happen.
‘Eu trabalhava no Banco do Brasil.’
Or, ‘When I was a a younger I would always drink a few beers before going to a party.’
‘Quando eu era mais jovem eu sempre bebia umas cervejas antes de sair pra festa’
Things that used to happen or, would (always) happen, entendeu?
Forming
-ar regular verbs
| I used to work | eu trabalh | ava |
| he used to work | ele trabalh | ava |
| we used to work | nós trabalh | ávamos |
| they used to work | eles trabalh | avam |
-er and -ir regular verbs
| I used to eat | eu com | ia |
| he used to eat | ele com | ia |
| we used to eat | nós com | íamos |
| they used to eat | eles com | iam |
ar verbs > Trabalhava nessa empresa. (I used to work at that company.)
er verbs > Eu bebia todos os dias. (I used to drink every day.)
ir verbs > Eu dormia bem. (I used to sleep well.)
Use this tense to talk about things that are or were very unlikely to happen.
Se eu soubesse o que ela ia fazer... (If I knew what she's going to do...)
Se você falasse que está tudo bem... (If you were to say it's all ok...)
Se eu ficasse mais tempo no Brasil... (If I were to stay in Brazil longer...)
*Also called the Preterit Imperfect or, the Past Subjunctive.
To express was.
When talking about action in the past, use the imperfect indicative tense of estar –> estava.
Eu estava almoçando quando você ligou. (I was having lunch when you called.)
Ela estava ocupada ontem. (She was busy yesterday.)
*Don’t use this to express was for talking about permanent things in the past (I was a young boy; She was a sick baby etc.) – use ser for that.
The imperfect indicative is used when talking about continuous or ongoing action in the past. Something that used to happen or, would (always) happen. Ser is irregular.
The only form you need to know is this: ser > era
Ela era uma criança tranquila. (She was a quiet child.)
Era uma vez. (Once upon a time.)
The imperfect indicative is used when talking about continuous or ongoing action in the past. Something that used to happen or, would (always) happen. Ter is irregular.
The only form you need to know is this: ter > tinha
Eu tinha muito dinheiro. (I had lots of money.)
A past participle is just a verb conjugation that describes something that is over and done: written, said, cooked, closed etc.
A porta está aberta. (The door is opened.)
O projeto é completado. (The project is completed.)
Ela está cansada. (She's tired.)
Ele foi morto. (He was killed.)
*The endings must take the gender of the subject:
a porta > aberta; o escritório > aberto
To say “I’ve been working every weekend” you use the present perfect verb form. Just use TER + past participle of any VERB:
eu > Eu tenho trabalhado todo dia. (I've been working every day.)
você > Você tem treinado? (Have you been training?)
ele/ela > Ela tem saído muito! (She's been going out a lot!)
You only need to modify the TER to match the subject.
Drop the ending (-ar, -er, -ir) and adding -ando, -endo, -indo respectively.
Use this to say whats happening right now : I’m working, He’s surfing, You’re talking, etc. (often called the Portuguese “ing”).
| She’s arriving | Ela está cheg | ando |
| Who’s talking? | Quem está fal | ando? |
| I’m eating. | Eu estou com | endo |
| He’s losing. | Ele está perd | endo |
| He’s insisting. | Ele está insist | indo |
| She’s driving. | Ela está dirig | indo |
*This is often called the gerund.
Eu estou trabalhando agora. (I'm working now.)
Você está comendo açúcar? (Are you eating sugar?)
Ele está dirigindo. (He's driving.)
Use this tense to talk about things that are uncertain to happen: in the present.
Eu espero que você pense melhor. (I hope that you think better.)
Você quer que eu dirija? (Do you want me to drive?)
É importante que você aprenda. (It's important that you learn.)
Words that almost always trigger this tense:
espero que (I hope that…)
quero que (I want that…)
importante que (It’s important that…)
There are three main verb groups in Portuguese.
| falar | to speak | ||
| I speak | eu fal | o | |
| you/he/she speaks | você/ele/ela fal | a |
| entender | to understand | ||
| I understand | eu entend | o | |
| you/he/she understands | você/ele/ela entend | e |
| partir | to depart | ||
| I depart | eu part | o | |
| you/he/she departs | você/ele/ela part | e |
| to say, speak | falar | ||
| I say | eu fal | o | |
| you/he/she say(s) | você/ele/ela fal | a | |
| we say | nós fal | amos | |
| they/you all say | eles/elas fal | am | |
* More accurately called, the present indicative tense.
| to eat | comer | ||
| I eat | eu com | o | |
| you/he/she eat(s) | você/ele/ela com | e | |
| we eat | nós com | emos | |
| they/you all eat | eles/elas com | em | |
* More accurately called, the present indicative tense.
| to leave, depart | partir | ||
| I leave | eu part | o | |
| you/he/she leave(s) | você/ele/ela part | e | |
| we leave | nós part | imos | |
| they/you all leave | eles/elas part | em | |
* More accurately called, the present indicative tense.
Ser is very irregular.
| to be (permanent) | ser | ||
| I am | eu | sou | |
| you/he/she are/is | você/ele/ela | é | |
| we are | nós | somos | |
| they/you all are | eles/elas | são | |
* More accurately called, the present indicative tense.
Some popular irregular verbs in the present tense.
| to lose | perder | ||
| I lose | eu per | co | |
| you/he/she lose(s) | você/ele/ela per | de |
| to ask for, request | pedir | ||
| I ask for | eu pe | ço | |
| you/he/she ask(s) for | você/ele/ela pe | de |
| to sleep | dormir | ||
| I sleep | eu d | urmo | |
| you/he/she sleep(s) | você/ele/ela d | orme |
* More accurately called, the present indicative tense.
Some popular irregular verbs in the present tense.
| to discover | descobrir | ||
| I discover | eu desc | ubro | |
| you/he/she discover(s) | você/ele/ela desc | obre |
| to go out, leave | sair | ||
| I leave | eu sai | o | |
| you/he/she leave(s) | você/ele/ela sai |
* More accurately called, the present indicative tense.
PEDIR and OUVIR have similar ~irregulr conjugations in the present and the simple past. These are very common verbs and worth remembering!
pedir > Eu peço desculpas amiga (Excuse me my friend.)
ouvir > Eu ouço bem. (I hear well.)
*this is the preterit indicative tense.
pedir > Eu pedi uma Coca-Cola. (I ordered a Coca-Cola.)
ouvir > Eu ouvi um barulho. (I heard a noise.)
