Portuguese Verb Conjugations

Learn more about Portuguese verb conjugations...

Hello and welcome!

On this post you learn the basics of how to conjugate Brazilian Portuguese verbs.

I will try to keep it as simple as possible. If you have any questions, or you haven't understood how a Portuguese verb is conjugated, leave me a comment. I will get back to you as soon as possible.

If you haven't watched the YouTube tutorials on this blog, I recommend you start from there. Go to Brazilian Portuguese Verbs.

Why is it important to know Portuguese verb endings?

Unlike English, you may have a pretty good idea on how to conjugate a Portuguese verb by the way it ends. It comes in handy when you look for a particular verb up in the dictionary when you see something like this:

Wash (v.)= Lavar *.

* The dictionary will always give you the infinitive form of a verb, that is, the verb form not used directly with a subject (I, you, he, she...).

So, again, if you know the "ending" of the verbs in Portuguese, you will be able to correctly conjugate it. (There are some irregular Portuguese verbs (and they are quite common verbs), and I will cover them as well on a separate post.)

So let's begin:

Portuguese verbs have three main infinitives (in order of importance and usage):

1 - Verbs ending in "-ar";

2 - Verbs ending in "-er";

2 - Verbs ending in "-ir".

Brazilian Portuguese verbs ending in "-ar"

One great thing about this group:

All Portuguese verbs ending in "-ar" are conjugated the same way!

IN ACTION:

PRESENT SIMPLE
(Facts about the present)
AMAR

Eu amo = I love

Você ama = You love

Ele or Ela ama = He/she loves

Nós amamos = We love

Eles or Elas amam = They love

Vocês amam = You (plural) love

Examples:

1 - Eu adoro a cidade do Rio de Janeiro.

2 - Miriam mora em Copacabana.

3 - José e Maria namoram ha quinze anos.

4 - Pedro não gosta de sorvete. *

* To say a negative sentence, simply put não before the verb!

5 - Eu trabalho em uma empresa grande.

6 - Onde você mora?

7 - Eu te telefono em quinze minutos.

8 - Nós gostamos de música clássica mas não gostamos de salsa.

PRESENT CONTINUOUS
(action that is happening right now)

MORAR
Eu estou morando. = I am living.

Você está morando. = You are living.

Ele or Ela está ando. = He or She is living.

Nós estamos morando. = We are living.

Eles or Elas estão morando. They are living.

Vocês estão morando. You (plural) are living.

PAST SIMPLE
(action that already happened)
TRABALHAR

Eu trabalhei = I worked

Você trabalhou = You worked

Ele or Ela trabalhou = He/she worked

Nós trabalhamos = We worked

Eles or Elas trabalharam = They worked

Vocês trabalharam = You (plural) worked

PAST CONTINUOUS
(action that was happening in the past)

ANDAR
Eu estava andando. = I was walking.

Você estava andando. = You were walking.

Ele or Ela estava andando. = He or She was walking.

Nós estávamos andando. = We were walking.

Eles or Elas estavam andando. = They were walking.

Vocês estavam andando. = You (plural) were walking.