Verbs: Present Tense — Brazilian Portuguese Grammar

The present tense, or , is used to talk about actions happening now, routines, general truths, and even some future events. Verbs change their endings based on who is performing the action. This is called conjugation.

In Brazilian Portuguese, the main subject pronouns used are:

(I)
(you, singular), (he), (she)
(we)
(you, plural), (they, masculine/mixed), (they, feminine)

Notice that and use the same verb forms as the third-person pronouns ( and ). This simplifies conjugation significantly compared to other Romance languages.

Regular Verbs: The Three Groups

Regular verbs follow a predictable pattern based on the last two letters of their infinitive form (the base form of the verb). There are three groups: -ar, -er, and -ir.

To conjugate a regular verb, you remove the ending (-ar, -er, or -ir) and add the appropriate ending for the subject.

Verbs Ending in -ar

This is the most common verb group. The endings are: -o, -a, -amos, -am.

Let's take the verb (to work):

Eu trabalho em um escritório no centro.
I work in an office downtown.
Ela fala português muito bem.
She speaks Portuguese very well.
Nós compramos pão fresco toda manhã.
We buy fresh bread every morning.

Verbs Ending in -er

The endings for this group are: -o, -e, -emos, -em.

Example with the verb (to learn):

Você come muito rápido.
You eat very fast.
Nós bebemos café depois do almoço.
We drink coffee after lunch.
Eles vendem carros usados.
They sell used cars.

Verbs Ending in -ir

The endings are very similar to -er verbs: -o, -e, -imos, -em. The only difference is in the form.

Example with the verb (to open):

Eu divido o apartamento com um amigo.
I share the apartment with a friend.
Nós assistimos a muitos filmes brasileiros.
We watch a lot of Brazilian movies.
As lojas abrem às nove da manhã.
The stores open at nine in the morning.

Uses of the Present Tense

Beyond actions happening at the moment of speaking, the present tense has other important uses.

Habits and Routines

It describes actions that happen regularly.

Ele acorda cedo todos os dias.
He wakes up early every day.
Nós sempre viajamos em dezembro.
We always travel in December.

Facts and General Truths

It is used for statements that are universally true.

A Terra gira em torno do Sol.
The Earth revolves around the Sun.
Dois mais dois são quatro.
Two plus two is four.

Near Future

In conversational Brazilian Portuguese, it is very common to use the present tense to talk about definite plans in the near future.

Eu viajo para o Rio amanhã.
I am traveling to Rio tomorrow.
A gente se encontra no sábado.
We'll meet on Saturday.

Common Irregular Verbs

Many of the most frequently used verbs are irregular, meaning they do not follow the standard patterns. These must be memorized.

(to be - permanent characteristics)

Eu sou do Brasil.
I am from Brazil.

(to be - temporary states, location)

Ela está cansada hoje.
She is tired today.

(to go)

Nós vamos ao cinema mais tarde.
We are going to the movies later.

(to have)

Você tem um minuto?
Do you have a minute?

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Brazilian Portuguese course

412 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 1. A few of them, with the words “Verbs: Present Tense” is about in bold:

Esta é minha amiga, Anna. Ela é uma estudante.
This is my friend, Anna. She is a student.
Lesson 2
Ele também está dormindo. Ela não está.
He is also sleeping. She isn't.
Lesson 16
Eu os amo e eles me amam.
I love them and they love me.
Lesson 32

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