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 está aberta
o escritório está aberto
Just like any verb, you can use ser (to be) in it’s infinitive.
It's good to be Brazilian! > É bom ser brasileiro.
It's easy to be happy. > É fácil ser feliz.
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 the future subjunctive tense to talk about things that are likely to happen, but that have not yet occurred.
Me liga quando você chegar. (Call me when you arrive.)
Se eu comprar uma casa te aviso. (If I buy a house 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…)
These are the most common irregulars in the future subjunctive tense.
ter » Se voce tiver tempo me liga. If you have time, call me.
fazer » Se voce fizer um bolo vou ficar feliz. If you make a cake I'll be happy!
querer » Se voce quiser eu pago. If you want, I'll pay.
ir » Quando eu for ao centro. When I go downtown.
ser » Se for um bom preço eu compraria. If it were a good price I'd buy it.
estar » Me fala quando voce estiver pronto. Tell me when you're ready.
You can use ir (to go) to say where you’re going, or what you’re going to do. Either way you just need to know how to conjugate ir in the present tense. It’s (very) irregular.
Use ir in the present together with any noun to talk about where you’re going.
Eu vou à praia. (I'm going to the beach.)
Eu vou ao supermercado. (I'm going to the supermarket.)
Você vai no banco? (Are you going to the bank?)
Use ir in the present together with almost any verb to talk about what you’re going to do.
Eu vou correr. (I'm going to run.)
Você vai comer? (Are you going to eat?)
Nós vamos viajar. (We're going to travel.)
Use the imperfect subjunctive tense to talk about things that are extremely unlikely to have happened or happen.
*Also called the Preterit Imperfect or, the Past Subjunctive.
Se eu soubesse... (If I knew / were to know...)
Se você falasse... (If you said / were to say...)
Se você tivessel... (If you had / were to have...)
It’s most often used together with the conditional:
Se eu soubesse tudo seria sábio. If I knew everything I'd be wise.
Se fosse ele eu te contaria. If it were he I would tell you.
Se eu tivesse tempo estudaria mais. If I have time I'd study more.
The imperfect subjunctive tense is used to talk about things that are extremely unlikely to have happened or happen. It’s most often used together with the conditional tense:
Se eu soubesse tudo seria sábio. (If I knew everything I'd be wise.)
Se fosse ele eu te contaria. (If it were he I would tell you.)
Se eu tivesse tempo estudaria mais. (If I have time I'd study more.)
Use the Imperfect Indicative when talking about actions that were continuous, habitual, or repeated over an unspecified period of time. Something that used to happen or, would (always) happen.
*Also called the Imperfect Past tense.
I used to work at the Bank of Brazil. ➜ Eu trabalhava no Banco do Brasil.
Or,
In those days I would always drink a few beers after work. ➜ Naqueles dias, eu sempre bebia algumas cervejas depois do trabalho.
Forming
-ar regular verbs
-er regular verbs
-ir regular verbs
Examples
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.)
Common Irregulars
ser : Quando eu era criança, eu era muito tímido. ➜ When I was a child, I used to be very shy.
ter : Ela tinha uma casa perto da praia. ➜ She used to have a house near the beach.
ver : Ele via o pôr do sol todas as tardes. ➜ He used to watch the sunset every afternoon.
vir : Ela vinha à cidade todas as semanas. ➜ She used to come to the city every week.
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 Present Perfect (verb tense) is used to talk about action that’s on-going: what has been happening.
For example, to say things like “I’ve been working every weekend” the Present Perfect is the way to go.
Just use TER + the past participle of any verb. TER is always in the present tense.
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!)
Use this to say what’s happening right now: I’m working, He’s surfing, You’re talking, etc. It’s often considered the Portuguese “ing”.
ESTAR + verb without the final “r” + ndo
~ar verb brincar ➜ brinca
➜ brincando
~er verb correr ➜ corre ➜ correndo
~ir verb dormir ➜ dormi ➜ dormindo
NO IRREGULARS! 🥳 (ever)
CONJUGATION STAYS THE SAME 🥳 🥳 (it’s the same for eu, você, nós…)
ESTAR IS CONJUGATED TO MATCH THE SUBJECT (eu estou, você está…)
LIKE THIS 👀
Eu estou trabalhando agora. (I'm working now.)
Você está comendo açúcar? (Are you eating sugar?)
Ele está dirigindo. (He's driving.)
Use the present subjunctive tense to talk about things that are plausible yet uncertain to happen right now: 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 usually trigger this tense:
espero que (I hope that…)
quero que (I want that…)
é importante que (It’s important that…)
Take the 1st-person present root and add an:
+e for ar verbs
+a for er/ir verbs
Example: ACONTECER »
Eu não quero que aconteça novamente.
the 1st-person present is: eu aconteço;
the root is aconteç;
adding an a » aconteça.
Example: FALAR »
Espero que ele fale logo.
the 1st-person present is: eu falo;
the root is fal;
adding an e » fale.
Example: FAZER »
Espero que ele faça.
the 1st-person present is: eu faço;
the root is faç;
adding an a » faça.
SER becomes seja in this tense and is widely used to express that you hope something will be – will come to pass.
COMER É a hora de comer! It's time to eat!
BATER Vamos bater papo online depois. Let's chat online later.
ACONTECER Nunca vai acontecer. It's never going to happen.
There are plenty of irregulars. The most common are:
SER
TER
PODER
FAZER
DIZER
SABER
QUERER
These are best learned with flashcards.
QUERER Quer alguma coisa? Do you want something?
FAZER Não faço ideia. I've no idea.
TER Eu tenho muita coisa para fazer. I have many things to do.
* More accurately called, the present indicative tense.
✻ More accurately called, the present indicative tense.
There aren’t many ~ir verbs. The most common include:
ir
vir
sair
cair
abrir
pedir
seguir
dormir
partir
servir
decidir
repetir
proibir
assistir
despedir
permitir
conseguir
SAIR Eu quase nao saio a noite. I hardly go out at night.
ASSISTIR Eu nem assisto TV I don't even watch TV.
DORMIR O bebe dorme a noite toda. The baby sleeps all night long.
REPETIR Você pode repetir (por favor)? Can you repeat that (please)?
Many of these are IRREGULAR.
VIR Vem com a gente. Com with us.
IR Eu vou esperar na minha casa. I'm going to wait at my house.
PEDIR Eu sempre peço a mesma coisa. I always order the same thing.
There are plenty of irregular verbs in the present tense (the present indicative). These are the essential ones that you need to memorize.
Some popular irregular verbs in the present tense.
* 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.)
“simple past” = action that is over and done.
This is called, the preterit indicative tense.
O que ela falou? ➜ What did she say?
Eu já falei para você. ➜ I already told you.
Eu já te falei. ➜ ➜ I already told you.
The “simple past” = action that is over and done. Officially called the Preterit Indicative tense.
(eu) Eu entendi tudo. I understood everything.
(você, ele, ela) Ele nao entendeu. He didn't understand.
The “simple past” = action that is over and done. Officially called the Preterit Indicative tense. We’ll use PARTIR (to depart) to show the conjugations of regular ~ir verbs:
(eu) Eu parti às 7 horas. I left at 7 o'clock.
(você, ele, ela) Ela partiu para Europa ontém. She departed for Europe yesterday.
(eu) Eu consegui o apartamento! I got the apartment!
(você, ele, ela) Você conseguiu o emprego? Did you get the job?
The preterit of ser and ir ~ These two essential verbs are very irregular in the “simple past” tense. BUT – they’re exactly the same! Saying was or went, is usually written the same.
| to be | ser | ||
| I was | eu f | ui | |
| you/he/she were (was) | você/ele/ela f | oi |
| to go | ir | ||
| I went | eu f | ui | |
| you/he/she went | você/ele/ela f | oi |
IR » Foi muito bem. It went really well.
SER » Foi muito bom. It was really good.
IR » Fui! I went!
SER » A festa foi perfeita. The party was perfect.
IR » Nós fomos à praia ontem. We went to the beach yesterday.
SER » Foi um dia daqueles. It was one of those days.
IR » Eles foram fazer compras juntos. They went shopping together.
IR » Para onde ele foi? Where did he go?
* More accurately called, the preterit indicative tense.
Some popular irregular verbs in the simple past tense.
* More correctly called, the preterit indicative tense.
* More accurately called, the preterit indicative tense.
SER = to be.
Seria is the conditional form: would be.
Seria um ou dois? (Would that be one, or two?)
Seria mais difícil assim. (It would be more difficult like that.)
Seria uma ótima ideia. (it would be a great idea.)