Present tense

Three forms per verb, per chapter 03. Verbs come in three families depending on whether the infinitive ends in -ar, -er, or -ir. Roughly three quarters of all Portuguese verbs are -ar and regular.

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Grammar

1. The three verb families

Every verb ends in -ar, -er, or -ir — the last two letters of the dictionary form. That is the whole classification system, and it decides which endings the verb takes in every tense.

New verbs entering Portuguese always join the -ar group, which is why it keeps growing. Chapter 28 is a full conjugation reference for all thirty core verbs.

2. The regular endings

Drop the infinitive ending, add:

The eu form always ends in -o. No exceptions in the regular verbs, and almost none in the irregulars.

Note that -er and -ir differ only in the nós form, which you are not producing. For your purposes, -er and -ir verbs conjugate identically. That reduces three families to two.

3. Regular core verbs

-ar group — falar, pagar, pegar, achar, chegar, levar, morar, trabalhar, comprar, ajudar, gostar, precisar, ficar, custar

-er group — comer, beber, entender, doer

-ir group — abrir

4. Spelling changes that are not irregularities

Some -ar verbs change a letter to preserve the sound. In the present tense this does not affect you — it only shows up in commands and the subjunctive (ch. 17, 19). Noted here so it does not surprise you later:

• pagar (to pay) → pague (g → gu before e)
• chegar (to arrive) → chegue
• ficar (to stay) → fique (c → qu before e)
• começar [+] (to start) → comece (ç → c before e)

5. The irregular verbs you actually need

Ten of them. Everything else in the core list is regular.

Respellings for the awkward ones: faço (FAH-soo), posso (PAW-soo), venho (VEH-nyoo), vejo (VAY-zhoo), sei (say), dou (doh), vou (voh).

Notice the pattern: most irregularity lives in the eu form only. faço, posso, tenho, venho, vejo, sei. The você/ele form is usually predictable. If you learn the eu form, the rest usually follows.

6. saber vs conhecer — two verbs for "know"

conhecer is outside the core list but unavoidable. eu conheço (koh-NYEH-soo), ele conhece (koh-NYEH-see).

7. Present tense also covers the near future

As in English: Amanhã eu trabalho = Tomorrow I work / I'm working. Add a time word and the present does the job. See chapter 16.

8. Present continuous

Portuguese has one, and Brazilians use it exactly where English does.

estar + verb ending in -ndo

Estou comendo = I'm eating. Ele está trabalhando = He's working.

Unlike English, though, the simple present is fine for right now too. Eu vou can mean I go or I'm going. Use the continuous when you want to stress that it's happening at this moment.

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Examples

Regular -ar

Regular -er and -ir

The irregulars

saber vs conhecer

Present continuous

The eu forms, all together

Worth reading down this column until it is automatic. The eu form is where all the irregularity lives.

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What to take from this chapter

1. A verb's family is the last two letters of its infinitive: -ar, -er, -ir.
2. Three endings per verb: -o, -a/-e, -am/-em.
3. -er and -ir verbs behave identically for you — two patterns, not three.
4. Ten irregular verbs, and most of the irregularity is confined to the eu form.
5. estar + -ndo for the continuous, exactly like English.
6. The present covers the near future when a time word is present.
7. Full tables for every core verb: chapter 28.