This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the B1 level.
My suggestion* for these two weeks is to focus on:
*There's always room to adjust the course according to the group's preferences:
After this course, you'll have come closer to the B1 level and have the tools and strategies to get there and beyond.
Not sure if you should enroll in the A2 or B1 course?
Geared toward Absolute Beginners, this course gives you a solid start and foundation to build upon.
This is an introductory course to the Portuguese language as spoken in Portugal. Throughout the course, we will focus on the Portuguese sound system and basic Portuguese grammar.
You will also learn how to introduce yourself and day-to-day, useful phrases. Finally, we will discuss learning resources and strategies to support your learning journey.
After the course, you will have a basic understanding of European Portuguese pronunciation and grammar. You will also be capable of engaging in simple, short oral interactions. Last but not least, you will be aware of a variety of learning resources and strategies to help you succeed at learning the language.
I will keep you updated on upcoming course seasons
This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the A2 level.
My suggestion* for these two weeks is to focus on:
*There's always room to adjust the course according to the group's preferences:
After this course, you'll have come closer to the A2 level and have the tools and strategies to get there and beyond.
Not sure if you should enroll in the A2 or B1 course?
This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the A1 level.
If you have just started your learning journey, you may find this course too challenging. Consider enrolling for the Clean Slate A0 instead (if available).
This is an all-round course, meaning that we’ll work on all aspects of language learning (at the A1 level):
After this course, you'll have come closer to the A1 level and have the tools and strategies to get there and beyond.
Not sure if you should enroll in the A1 or A2 course?
It is true that Portuguese verbs are more cumbersome to learn than, say, English. Being a Romance language, Portuguese is not short of verb forms to keep track of.
Fortunately, there are plenty of regular verbs as well, that is, verbs whose conjugation follow a regular pattern. This means that you can learn and apply a conjugation “formula” that works with any regular verb. Neat.
In Portuguese, regular verbs are distributed into 3 conjugation groups:
| 1st conjugation: -AR (Acordar) | 2nd conjugation: -ER (Mexer) | 3rd conjugation: -IR (Partir) | |
| Eu | acordo | mexo | parto |
| Tu | acordas | mexes | partes |
| Ele, ela, você | acorda | mexe | parte |
| Nós | acordamos | mexemos | partimos |
| Vocês | acordam | mexem | partem |
| Eles, elas | acordam | mexem | partem |
In what follows, I will walk you through the conjugation patterns in greater detail. Namely, we look into some minor spelling adjustments that sometimes occur in the first person of the present tense. Read on.
Here’s an analogous article for the past tense: Portuguese Regular Verbs in the Past Tense.
To conjugate any regular verb in the present tense, remove the ending of the infinitive – either –ar, –er, or –ir – and add, instead, the following endings to the stem (marked in bold):
| 1st conjugation: -AR (Pensar) | 2nd conjugation: -ER (Vender) | 3rd conjugation: -IR (Abrir) | |
| Eu | penso | vendo | abro |
| Tu | pensas | vendes | abres |
| Ele, ela, você | pensa | vende | abre |
| Nós | pensamos | vendemos | abrimos |
| Vocês (vós)* | pensam (pensais) | vendem (vendeis) | abrem (abris) |
| Eles, elas | pensam | vendem | abrem |
| Other commonly used regular verbs | ficar, andar, falar, chegar, costumar, gostar, morar | comer, beber, querer, dever, correr, viver | partir, existir, sentir, dormir |
* In modern Portuguese, the 2- and 3-person plural share the same verb form. You may occasionally hear an outdated version (enclosed in parentheses in the table above) in conjunction with the pronoun vós. As its usage becomes ever rarer, I don’t think you should bother to learn it.
There are a few verbs in the -ir group whose conjugation follows the above pattern except for the first person – these are verbs containing either an e or an o in their stem.
So, the e and o become i and u (respectively) in the first person. Here are a few examples:
| e to i | |
| despir | eu dispo, tu despes, ele despe, etc. |
| mentir | eu minto, tu mentes, ele mente, etc. |
| preferir | eu prefiro, tu preferes, ele, prefere, etc |
| o to u | |
| cobrir | eu cubro, tu cobres, ele, cobre, etc. |
| dormir | eu durmo, tu dormes, ele dorme, etc. |
| tossir | eu tusso, tu tosses, ele tosse, etc. |
Also, if the stem of an -er or -ir verb ends in -c, -g, or –gu, these consonants change to -ç, -j, and g respectively in the first person of the present tense (to preserve the original consonant sound*):
| c to ç | |
| conhecer | eu conheço, tu conheces, ele conhece, etc. |
| parecer | eu pareço, tu pareces, ele parece, etc. |
| g to j | |
| fugir | eu fujo, tu foges, ele foge, etc. |
| agir | eu ajo, tu ages, ele age, etc. |
| gu to g | |
| conseguir | eu consigo, tu consegues, ele consegue, etc. |
| seguir | eu sigo, tu segues, ele segue, etc. |
* Learn more about Portuguese phonology and spelling-sound patterns: European Portuguese Pronunciation – Complete Guide to Portuguese Phonology and Spelling-Sound Patterns.
It is true that there are many regular verbs in the present tense (the 1st-conjugation group is by far the largest). However, some of the most widely used Portuguese verbs happen to be irregular.
Here’re 10 Portuguese irregular verbs you should know by heart:
| ser (be) | sou, és, é, somos, são |
| estar (be) | estou, estás, está, estamos, estão |
| ter (have) | tenho, tens, tem, temos, têm |
| haver (there is) | há |
| dar (give) | dou, dás, dá, damos, dão |
| pôr (put) | ponho, pões, põe, pomos, põem |
| ir (go) | vou, vais, vai, vamos, vão |
| fazer (do, make) | faço, fazes, faz, fazemos, fazem |
| poder (can) | posso, podes, pode, podemos, podem |
| saber (know) | sei, sabes, sabe, sabemos, sabem |
Reading tips! Speaking of widely used verbs. Here’re a few reads that will turn you into a better user of Portuguese:
• Portuguese Must-Know Irregular Verbs
• Making the Most of the Portuguese Verb “Ficar”: Usage Rundown and Conjugation
• The Portuguese Verb “Haver” and All the Things You Say with It
• The Portuguese Verb “Dar”: Usage and Idiomatic Expressions
• Portuguese Verbs Ser vs. Estar: How and When to Use Either
Break Free from the Tyranny of the Present Tense
Stay tuned for upcoming online courses and other learning materials.