Explore essential European Portuguese verbs, their conjugations, meanings, and practical usage in daily conversation.
Infinitives in Portuguese (unconjugated forms of verbs) are used in two main ways: the impersonal infinitive and the personal infinitive. In this lesson, I’ll walk you through them in a bite-sized way. For more details in each tense, follow the appropriate links. Impersonal Infinitive The impersonal infinitive is the base form of the verb and … Read more
Ah yes, translations! The bane of learners (and teachers). Sometimes they hinder more than help. The nuances of estar com vs ter in Portuguese perplex language learners and I’m often asked what the difference is. Both expressions convey the sensation of feeling, yet their usage can subtly diverge. This offers a glimpse into the rich … Read more
To refer to a past within the past present or future we can use Pretérito Perfeito Composto do Conjuntivo. What that means is that this tense is used to express the anteriority of action in relation to another action either: in the past; that is ongoing at the moment; that will happen in the future; … Read more
In complex sentences, we use the Conjuntivo mood in Portuguese to refer to uncertain or doubtful facts, possibilities, hypothetical scenarios or desires. And this is also usually done through certain “trigger words”. This mood comprises three main tenses having both a simple and compound form. So that’s 6 tenses in total: Presente do Conjuntivo, Pretérito … Read more
Welcome to the Present Tense in Portuguese – Part 3! As we saw in the first lesson here, the verbs in Portuguese can be cumbersome to learn, for those who don’t have this in their native language – like in English for instance. The reason for this part 3 is that there are a few … Read more
In very simple and layman’s terms, the past participle in Portuguese is equivalent to the “ed” form in English (think: closed, worried, cancelled, etc). It’s also a descriptive word, describing the end result of the action. We use it in compound and passive tenses. A particular feature of a participle is that when on its … Read more
To express courtesy & wishes in Portuguese, it’s very common to use the Imperfect Past instead of the Conditional tense. It’s actually similar in English. We use “would” to express things we would do way back when. We also for “what you would do if” which is the conditional tense. And we ALSO use “would” … Read more
Congratulations on reaching the past imperfect in Portuguese! This tense will open up many more sentences and allow you to express many more ideas and tell stories. This tense will allow you to say things like “I used to” or “When we were kids, we would…” The best way to learn this tense is to … Read more
If you’ve heard that learning the verbs in Portuguese can be a nightmare for some learners, you’ve heard right! Will they be a nightmare for you? Maybe, but only if you let them. It’s no secret that the verbs in Latin-based languages can be cumbersome to learn. This is especially more challenging if, in your … Read more
Learning a new language can be tough. What makes all this worse is not remembering or being familiar with the grammar terminology itself. I have your back! In this lesson, we’re looking at what a verb is and how verbs in Portuguese are used. Portuguese sentences follow (for the most part) the SVO sequence (subject/verb/object). … Read more