Language/Portuguese/Grammar/Irregular-Verbs
Հայերէն
Български език
官话
官話
Hrvatski jezik
Český jazyk
Nederlands
English
Suomen kieli
Français
Deutsch
עברית
हिन्दी
Magyar
Bahasa Indonesia
فارسی
Italiano
日本語
Қазақ тілі
한국어
Lietuvių kalba
Νέα Ελληνικά
Şimali Azərbaycanlılar
Język polski
Limba Română
Русский язык
Српски
Español
العربية القياسية
Svenska
Wikang Tagalog
தமிழ்
ภาษาไทย
Türkçe
Українська мова
Urdu
Tiếng Việt
Olá! In this lesson, we will continue talking about verbs in the present tense, but this time we will focus on the irregular verbs. Irregular verbs do not follow the standard pattern of conjugation in the present tense, so it is important to learn them by heart.
Regular Vs. Irregular Verbs
As we have learned in the previous lesson, regular verbs follow a pattern in order to be conjugated in the present tense. The verb stem remains the same, but the ending changes depending on the subject pronoun (Eu, Você, Ele/Ela, Nós, Vocês, Eles/Elas).
Irregular verbs, on the other hand, do not follow this pattern and must be memorized since their stem also changes when conjugated. In this lesson, we will learn some of the most common irregular verbs and their conjugation in the present tense.
Common Irregular Verbs
Here are some of the most common irregular verbs in Portuguese:
| Portuguese | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Ser | [sɛʁ] | to be (permanent) |
| Estar | [ɨʃ'taɾ] | to be (temporary) |
| Ter | [ter] | to have |
| Fazer | [fa'zeɾ] | to do/to make |
| Ir | [iɾ] | to go |
| Vir | [viɾ] | to come |
Now, let's learn how to conjugate each of these verbs in the present tense.
Ser
Ser is a very important verb in Portuguese. It is used to express permanent characteristics of a person, thing, or situation. For example:
- Eu sou casado(a) - I am married.
- Ele é alto - He is tall.
- Nós somos brasileiros - We are Brazilian.
To conjugate Ser, we change the stem to "sej" and add the following endings:
| Subject Pronoun | Verb Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Eu | sou |
| Você | é |
| Ele/Ela | é |
| Nós | somos |
| Vocês | são |
| Eles/Elas | são |
Some examples:
- Eu sou inteligente - I am intelligent.
- Você é muito bonita - You are very pretty.
- Ele é meu irmão - He is my brother.
- Nós somos amigos - We are friends.
- Eles são engenheiros - They are engineers.
Estar
Estar is used to express temporary characteristics of a person, thing, or situation. For example:
- Eu estou cansado - I am tired.
- Ela está feliz - She is happy.
- Nós estamos em casa - We are at home.
To conjugate Estar, we change the stem to "est" and add the following endings:
| Subject Pronoun | Verb Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Eu | estou |
| Você | está |
| Ele/Ela | está |
| Nós | estamos |
| Vocês | estão |
| Eles/Elas | estão |
Some examples:
- Eu estou de férias - I am on vacation.
- Ela está ocupada agora - She is busy now.
- Nós estamos com pressa - We are in a hurry.
- Eles estão animados para a festa - They are excited for the party.
Ter
Ter means "to have". It is used to express possession. For example:
- Eu tenho um cachorro - I have a dog.
- Ela tem muita experiência - She has a lot of experience.
- Nós temos um compromisso - We have an appointment.
To conjugate Ter, we change the stem to "t" and add the following endings:
| Subject Pronoun | Verb Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Eu | tenho |
| Você | tem |
| Ele/Ela | tem |
| Nós | temos |
| Vocês | têm |
| Eles/Elas | têm |
Some examples:
- Eu tenho fome - I am hungry.
- Ela tem sorte - She is lucky.
- Nós temos um carro novo - We have a new car.
- Eles têm muitas possibilidades - They have many possibilities.
Fazer
Fazer means "to do" or "to make". It is used to express actions. For example:
- Eu faço ginástica - I exercise.
- Ele faz a janta - He makes dinner.
- Nós fazemos uma festa - We throw a party.
To conjugate Fazer, we change the stem to "faz" and add the following endings:
| Subject Pronoun | Verb Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Eu | faço |
| Você | faz |
| Ele/Ela | faz |
| Nós | fazemos |
| Vocês | fazem |
| Eles/Elas | fazem |
Some examples:
- Eu faço meu trabalho com prazer - I do my work with pleasure.
- Você faz muito barulho - You make a lot of noise.
- Nós fazemos comida para nossa família - We make food for our family.
- Eles fazem muito sucesso - They are very successful.
Ir
Ir means "to go". It is used to express movement. For example:
- Eu vou ao cinema - I go to the cinema.
- Ele vai viajar - He is going to travel.
- Nós vamos à praia - We go to the beach.
To conjugate Ir, we change the stem to "v" and add the following endings:
| Subject Pronoun | Verb Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Eu | vou |
| Você | vai |
| Ele/Ela | vai |
| Nós | vamos |
| Vocês | vão |
| Eles/Elas | vão |
Some examples:
- Eu vou trabalhar de bicicleta - I will bike to work.
- Você vai comigo para o teatro - Will you come with me to the theater?
- Nós vamos estudar juntos - We will study together.
- Eles vão à academia toda manhã - They go to the gym every morning.
Vir
Vir means "to come". It is used to express movement as well. For example:
- Eu venho de Porto Alegre - I come from Porto Alegre.
- Ela vem me visitar - She is coming to visit me.
- Nós vimos de carro - We came by car.
To conjugate Vir, we change the stem to "vem" and add the following endings:
| Subject Pronoun | Verb Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Eu | venho |
| Você | vem |
| Ele/Ela | vem |
| Nós | vimos |
| Vocês | vêm |
| Eles/Elas | vêm |
Some examples:
- Eu venho estudando muito - I have been studying a lot.
- Você vem para a festa? - Are you coming to the party?
- Nós vimos para ajudar - We came to help.
- Eles vêm de ônibus - They are coming by bus.
Conclusion
Irregular verbs are important to learn as they cannot be easily identified by its infinitive form. In this lesson, we learned some of the most common irregular verbs in Portuguese and their conjugation in the present tense. Remember to practice using them in context to master their use.
Obrigado/a and see you in the next lesson!
Sources