Portuguese ~ or verbs

Is there no end to the suffering? It's not enough that we have to learn to conjugate 3 different verb types (the ar, ei & ir endings). There is yet another group: the Portuguese ~or verbs!

Sim, e não.

The good news is that only a few of these are actually used and their conjugations (in all tenses) are virtually identical!

(1) pôr to put, place

Don't confuse this with por, which means "for" -! We're talking about the VERB pôr! It's the most common ~or ending verb. It's used mostly in the present and the (simple) past tenses. Like this:

Põe o vinho na mesa por favor. ➜ Put the wine on the table, please.

Eu pus sua toalha na gaveta. ➜ I put the towel in the drawer.

Eu vou pôr a comida no prato. ➜ I'm going to put the food on the plate (*The food's ready!)

Here's the complete conjugation of the verb pôr.

All of the other ~or verbs are just inventions of pôr.

(2) supor to suppose

This is used quite a lot!

Vamos supor que um disco voador chegou aqui. ➜ Suppose a flying saucer came here.

You'll also hear it's past participle: suposto(a).

O suposto fantasma nunca apareceu. ➜ The supposed ghost never appeared.

(3) dispor to dispose, incline, place into order

This verb is difficult to learn as there are several meanings. The one you're likely to encounter is, at your disposal and, willing (the past participle).

Estamos ao seu dispor. ➜ We're at your disposal.

Eu estou sempre disposto a ajudar meus colegas. ➜ I'm always willing to help my colleagues.

(4) propor to propose

O presidente propôs adiar a reunião. ➜ The president proposed delaying the meeting.

You'll also hear it's past participle: proposto(a).

O investimento proposto foi excelente. ➜ The investment proposed was excellent.

It's also a noun! ➜ the proposal ➜ a proposta

É uma boa proposta. ➜ It's a good proposal.

(5) expor to expose, exhibit

Tem sido usada para expor abusos institucionais. ➜ It's been used to expose institutional abuses.

You'll also hear it's past participle: exposto

O número exposto no documento. ➜ The number displayed (exhibited) in the document.

(6) compor to compose

Ele gosta de compor relatórios. ➜ He likes to produce reports.

You'll also hear it's past participle: composto

O grupo será composto de pessoas aposentadas. ➜ The group will be made up of retirees.

Less common Portuguese ~or verbs include:
sobrepor, opor, antepor, contrapor

Grammar: or ending verbs

pôr, supor, dispor, propor, expor, compor
✻ or ending verbs are RARE. This list is not complete, but these are really (really) the only ones you need to know.
pôr ➜ to put
supor ➜ to suppose
dispor ➜ to dispose
propor ➜ to propose
expor ➜ to expose
compor ➜ to propose