Portuguese present tense: regular -ar, -er and -ir verbs

Short answer: person, stem and ending

Falar uses the stem fal- in this pattern; comer uses com- and abrir uses abr-. The ending identifies the person: falamos refers to we, while falam refers to they or a third-person plural form of address. Portuguese can omit a subject when context identifies it. Start by naming who performs the action before trying to conjugate a whole list of verbs from memory.

The opening table provides complete sentences rather than isolated endings. It helps you observe agreement in context. These models do not include verbs with stem changes or other irregularities. An -ir infinitive does not guarantee the abrir pattern: dormir, for example, has durmo. First identify whether a verb belongs to the regular pattern you are actually practising.

Three complete models: falar, comer and abrir

The reference below includes eu, tu, ele/ela, nós and eles/elas. Você and vocês use third-person forms; suitable address depends on the relationship and setting. You need not use every pronoun in conversation. They appear here to make the differences visible. Vós has its own forms but is outside this initial everyday practice set, so this is not a table of every possible form of address.

Pay attention to nós: falamos, comemos, abrimos. In these present-tense models, each group retains its vowel. Then compare tu with eles: falas/falam, comes/comem, abres/abrem. Copy one column at a time and make a sentence about an actual or invented activity. Do not randomly add s because a subject refers to more than one person.

Simple present, routine and an ongoing action

“Estudo português à noite” describes a habit here; “Estou a estudar português agora” highlights an ongoing action. The simple present has other uses depending on context. Do not turn this contrast into a rule that the present never refers to the current moment. Initially use explicit markers such as normalmente, todos os dias and agora to make the exercise’s intended time reference clear.

In the dialogue, someone works in the morning and studies at night. Asked what they are doing at that instant, they change to estar a plus an infinitive. The task distinguishes types of information rather than replacing every present-tense verb with a longer construction. A habitual answer is entirely appropriate when the question actually asks about a routine rather than an immediate action.

• Distinguish routine from an ongoing action

Keep agreement in negatives and questions

“Não trabalho ao sábado” keeps trabalho and adds não before the verb. “Trabalhas ao sábado?” uses tu. Answering about yourself, say “Não, não trabalho”. Your answer need not repeat the question’s verb form because the grammatical person changes. Always check the subject of your reply even when the question conveniently provides the vocabulary and the topic you need to discuss.

Consider “Nós trabalha à noite”. Correct it to “Nós trabalhamos à noite”: inserting nós is not enough. For “Ela abrem a loja”, use abre. Review in two passes: subject and verb first, then time, place and negation. This preserves the intended message while checking the form instead of treating a plausible-looking ending as proof the whole sentence is correct.

Worked exercises: from infinitive to sentence

Try the set below before reading the key: 1 falo; 2 comes; 3 abre; 4 estudamos; 5 trabalham; 6 abrimos. Each follows the named person and regular group. In item six, abrir belongs to the pattern shown; do not generalise that answer to every -ir verb. Reread the infinitive when an ending looks familiar but the stem does not match the requested verb.

Now change “Eu como em casa” to nós and then make it negative: “Nós comemos em casa” and “Nós não comemos em casa”. Neither change tells us where they eat instead. If the exercise asks for that detail, add a clearly invented sentence. Correcting agreement does not give you permission to add facts to the original situation without identifying them as new information.

Production task: a routine with different subjects

Write six sentences: two about yourself, two about another character and two about a group. Include a verb from each model, a negative and a question. Remove pronouns where the context stays clear and ask a partner to identify the subjects. Restore a subject if the meaning becomes ambiguous. The goal is a comprehensible message rather than removing every pronoun simply because Portuguese sometimes allows it.

Continue with daily routine and ongoing actions to apply these forms. The A2 path alternates reading, listening and production. CEFR and Camões provide the educational framework; tables, explanations and answers here are editorial materials. They are neither an official CIPLE syllabus nor a complete proficiency assessment. Completing forms and using them in a relevant response are related but different tasks.

• Describe your day in Portuguese

Sources and scope of this guide

Official sources support the stated legal, language and certification facts. Plans, examples and checklists are independent editorial suggestions, not instructions from an authority.

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