Portuguese Verbs

Portuguese verbs follow many of the same rules that govern most Romance languages. Like other Romance languages, Portuguese traces its roots to Latin with specific guidelines about the use of verbs. There are three conjugation groups for Portuguese verbs, based on the ending of the infinitive. These groups are: ar, -er and -ir. Also, there are approximately 1,000 irregular verbs in Portuguese. There are far more verbs of the regular variety in the Portuguese language. Regular verbs often belong to the conjugation group ending in –ar. Still, it is important to understand all these rules because conjugating Portuguese verbs can get complicated. For example: a verb may have more than fifty different forms with six grammatical tenses and three moods.

Unique Forms in Portuguese

There are two forms that are unique among Portuguese verbs. These verbs involve the personal infinitive and the future subjunctive. The personal infinitive does not show a specific tense, but relies on the inflection of the writer or speaker. The future subjunctive is older and virtually exclusive to Portuguese in modern usage. Other Romance languages like Spanish no longer depend on the use of the future subjunctive.

Tenses for Verbs

For Portuguese verbs, there are several tenses. These tenses include: Present, Imperfect, Pluperfect, Future and Conditional. Examples are: Present (“I do”), Imperfect (“I did”), Pluperfect (“I had done”), Future (“I will do”) and Conditional (“I would do”). Understanding these tenses is a key part of properly speaking and writing the Portuguese language. These tenses also apply to other Romance languages, so there is a lot of overlap between Portuguese and Italian or Spanish or French.

Non-finite Forms

Portuguese verbs also have five non-finite forms. These include: the Impersonal Infinitive (“to do”), Past Participle (“done”), Present Participle (“doing”), Gerund (“doing”) and Personal Infinitive (“for me to do”). As with other rules of grammar,

Moods

There are three distinct moods for Portuguese verbs. These moods include the Indicative (“I have done”), Subjunctive (“Were I to do”) and the Imperative (“Do!”). Each of these moods has a proper context in writing or speaking.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is another important element of properly using Portuguese verbs. Pronunciation can easily change the Indicative mood to the Imperative mood. It is crucial that people speaking Portuguese understand that inflection of certain verbs can completely change the meaning of a sentence or phrase. Pronunciation is the critical variable in helping a Portuguese speaker express the right point of view.