Each example below has three parts: the original text, a literal gloss describing how every word works, and a natural translation. The glosses use a few shorthand labels so they stay short. Don't worry about memorising them — this is a reference you can come back to.
Person and number · 1sg / 2sg / 3sg — first / second / third person singular (I, you, he/she/it) · 1pl / 2pl / 3pl — first / second / third person plural (we, you-all, they)
Gender and case · m / f / n — masculine / feminine / neuter · sg / pl — singular / plural · m.sg — combined: masculine singular (and similarly f.pl, n.sg, etc.) · NOM / ACC / GEN / DAT / INS / LOC — grammatical cases (nominative/accusative/genitive/dative/instrumental/locative) — which role the word plays in the sentence
Tense and aspect · PRES — present · PRET — preterite (a finished past event) · IMPF — imperfect (an ongoing or habitual past situation) · FUT — future · PERF — perfect (an action completed with present relevance) · PROG — progressive (action in progress, e.g. am eating) · COND — conditional (would…)
Mood · IND — indicative (regular statement) · SUBJ — subjunctive (uncertainty, wishes, doubts) · IMP — imperative (commands) · INF — infinitive (dictionary form: to go, to eat)
Other · REFL — reflexive (action on oneself: myself, yourself) · PERS — personal a (Spanish only — marks a human direct object) · HON — honorific (extra-polite form, common in Japanese/Korean) · TOP / SUB / OBJ — topic / subject / object markers (Japanese, Korean) · CL — classifier (Chinese, Japanese, Korean — a counter word for nouns) · NEG — negation
Portuguese basic word order is Subject-Verb-Object (SVO), the same as English. Like its Romance siblings, Portuguese is a pro-drop language: the subject pronoun is normally omitted because the verb ending identifies the person. Including the pronoun adds emphasis or disambiguates (especially in the third person, where ele/ela/voce share the same verb form). Adverbs and prepositional phrases move relatively freely; subjects can also follow the verb, particularly with intransitive verbs (Chegou o trem). Object and clitic pronoun placement, however, follows strict rules that differ between Brazilian (BR) and European (PT) usage.
Articles agree with the noun in gender (masculine/feminine) and number. Definite ('the'): o (m.sg), a (f.sg), os (m.pl), as (f.pl). Indefinite ('a/an/some'): um (m.sg), uma (f.sg), uns (m.pl), umas (f.pl). Portuguese contracts articles obligatorily with the prepositions de, em, a, por: de+o=do, de+a=da, em+o=no, em+a=na, a+o=ao, a+a=a (with grave accent), por+o=pelo, por+a=pela. The definite article is also used before personal names in colloquial speech (especially in PT and southern BR: o Joao, a Maria) and before possessives in PT (o meu livro), while BR often drops it (meu livro).
Subject: eu, tu (PT, intimate) / voce (BR, neutral), ele/ela, nos / a gente (BR colloquial), vos (archaic) / voces, eles/elas. Direct object: me, te, o/a, nos, vos, os/as. Indirect object: me, te, lhe, nos, vos, lhes. Reflexive: me, te, se, nos, vos, se. Placement is the major BR/PT split: BR strongly prefers proclisis (pronoun before the verb, even at sentence start: Me chamo Ana), while PT requires enclisis in neutral affirmative sentences (Chamo-me Ana) and proclisis only after triggers like negation, subordinators, or wh-words (Nao me chamo Ana). In BR speech, third-person o/a/lhe are often replaced by ele/ela or simply dropped.
Every noun is masculine or feminine. Typical endings: -o is usually masculine (livro, carro), -a usually feminine (casa, mesa); -agem, -dade, -cao are feminine (viagem, cidade, nacao); -ma of Greek origin is masculine (problema, sistema). Adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun and normally follow it: um livro novo, uma casa nova, livros novos, casas novas. Some adjectives are invariable in gender (-e, -l, -z: inteligente, facil, feliz) and only mark number. A few adjectives change meaning by position: um grande homem (a great man) vs um homem grande (a big man). Past participles used as adjectives also agree.
Infinitives end in -ar (1st conjugation: falar), -er (2nd: comer), or -ir (3rd: partir). Endings encode person, number, tense, mood, and aspect — usually making the subject pronoun redundant. Portuguese famously preserves a personal infinitive (inflected for subject) absent from Spanish and French. Key irregular verbs to memorize: ser ('to be', essential/permanent), estar ('to be', state/location), ter ('to have', also auxiliary for compound tenses), ir ('to go', auxiliary for periphrastic future), haver ('there to be', existential and archaic perfect auxiliary), fazer ('to do/make'), dizer ('to say'), poder ('can'), querer ('to want'), ver ('to see'), vir ('to come'). Stem changes also affect many -ir verbs (dormir: durmo, dormes...).
The presente do indicativo describes habitual actions, general truths, and (unlike English simple present) actions happening right now. Endings: -ar verbs take -o, -as, -a, -amos, -ais, -am; -er verbs -o, -es, -e, -emos, -eis, -em; -ir verbs -o, -es, -e, -imos, -is, -em. The tu form is alive in PT and parts of BR; elsewhere BR replaces it with voce + 3rd-singular verb. To stress an action in progress, Portuguese uses estar + gerundio (BR: estou falando) or estar a + infinitivo (PT: estou a falar). The present can also express scheduled near-future events: Amanha viajo para o Rio ('I'm travelling to Rio tomorrow').
Portuguese distinguishes two main simple past tenses. The preterito perfeito (simple) reports completed, bounded actions: 'I ate', 'we arrived'. Endings: -ar -ei, -aste, -ou, -amos/-amos, -astes, -aram; -er/-ir -i, -este, -eu/-iu, -emos/-imos, -estes, -eram. The preterito imperfeito describes ongoing, habitual, or background past states: 'I used to eat', 'it was raining'. Endings: -ar -ava, -avas, -ava, -avamos, -aveis, -avam; -er/-ir -ia, -ias, -ia, -iamos, -ieis, -iam. Note: Portuguese 'falei' covers both English 'I spoke' and 'I have spoken' — the compound 'tenho falado' carries the special meaning 'I've been speaking (repeatedly, lately)'.
Portuguese has two main futures. The synthetic future (futuro do presente) attaches endings to the full infinitive: -ei, -as, -a, -emos, -eis, -ao (falarei, falaras, falara...). It sounds formal/written; in speech, both BR and PT prefer the periphrastic ir + infinitivo: vou falar ('I'm going to speak'). The synthetic future is also used to express conjecture in the present (Sera verdade? 'Could it be true?'). The conditional (futuro do preterito), formed with the same root and endings -ia, -ias, -ia, -iamos, -ieis, -iam (falaria), expresses hypothetical situations. A handful of verbs have contracted future stems: dizer -> direi, fazer -> farei, trazer -> trarei.
Like Spanish, Portuguese has two verbs for 'to be'. Ser expresses essential, defining, or permanent attributes: identity, origin, profession, nationality, material, time/date, possession (Sou medico, E de Lisboa, A mesa e de madeira). Estar expresses states, conditions, locations, and temporary situations (Estou cansado, A chave esta na mesa). The contrast often parallels English 'is' vs 'is currently/feels': Ele e nervoso = he's a nervous person; Ele esta nervoso = he's nervous right now. Permanent location of buildings/cities uses ficar or ser (Lisboa fica em Portugal). Estar is also the auxiliary for progressive aspect (estar + gerundio/a + infinitivo).
Portuguese verbs fall into three conjugations identified by the infinitive ending: -AR (1st: falar 'to speak'), -ER (2nd: comer 'to eat'), -IR (3rd: partir 'to leave'). The present indicative is the workhorse tense: it covers habitual actions, general truths, and (unlike English simple present) what's happening right now. Drop the infinitive ending and add the personal endings below. The three Portuguese forms 'tu' (used in PT and in some BR regions), 'voce' (the default 'you' in BR), and 'o senhor / a senhora' (formal) all share the same SLOT: tu takes a dedicated 2nd-person ending, while voce and o(a) senhor(a) take the same 3rd-person singular form.
| Person | falar (-AR) | comer (-ER) | partir (-IR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | falo | como | parto |
| tu | falas | comes | partes |
| ele / ela / voce | fala | come | parte |
| nos | falamos | comemos | partimos |
| vos (archaic) | falais | comeis | partis |
| eles / elas / voces | falam | comem | partem |
Notes: (1) the 'vos' row is essentially dead in modern speech, kept only in liturgy and some northern PT dialects. Use 'voces' for plural 'you'. (2) BR colloquial 'a gente' ('we') takes a 3rd-singular verb: a gente fala. (3) Many -IR verbs have a stem change in the 'eu' form only (dormir: durmo, dormes, dorme...; preferir: prefiro, preferes...; servir: sirvo, serves...). (4) Spelling-only changes: verbs in -car, -gar, -car change c/g/c before -e endings (only relevant in the preterite/subjunctive, not the present).
'Querer' ('to want') followed directly by an infinitive expresses desire or intention. There is no preposition between the two verbs: querer falar, querer comer, querer ir. The pattern works exactly like English 'want to + verb', and the second verb stays in the infinitive regardless of who the subject is. 'Querer' itself is irregular in the present indicative.
| Person | querer | + infinitive |
|---|---|---|
| eu | quero | falar / comer / partir |
| tu | queres | falar / comer / partir |
| ele / ela / voce | quer | falar / comer / partir |
| nos | queremos | falar / comer / partir |
| eles / elas / voces | querem | falar / comer / partir |
Use it for present desires ('I want a coffee', 'I want to leave'), polite-ish requests ('Quero um cafe, por favor'), and to introduce plans you're attached to. For genuine politeness, use 'gostaria de + infinitivo' (see that section). Note: when the subjects of the two verbs differ, Portuguese requires the present subjunctive after 'que': Quero que voce venha ('I want you to come'), NOT 'Quero voce vir'. A common learner error is to insert 'a' or 'de' between querer and the infinitive, copying Spanish 'tener que' or English 'I want TO go'. Don't: it's just 'quero ir'.
The everyday way to talk about the future in both Brazilian and European Portuguese is 'ir + infinitivo' (no preposition between them, unlike Spanish 'ir A + infinitivo'). The synthetic future (falarei, falaras...) exists but sounds formal or literary; in speech, 'vou falar' is what you'll hear. 'Ir' is irregular:
| Person | ir | + infinitive |
|---|---|---|
| eu | vou | falar / comer / partir |
| tu | vais | falar / comer / partir |
| ele / ela / voce | vai | falar / comer / partir |
| nos | vamos | falar / comer / partir |
| eles / elas / voces | vao | falar / comer / partir |
Use it for: (1) near-future plans ('Vou ligar para ela amanha'), (2) intentions and decisions just made ('Vou pedir um suco'), (3) predictions ('Vai chover'). Time markers commonly co-occur: amanha, depois, daqui a pouco, hoje a noite, no proximo mes. To say 'go (somewhere)', 'ir' takes the preposition 'a' or 'para': vou a Lisboa, vou para casa. A frequent mistake is inserting 'a' before the infinitive on the Spanish model ('voy A hablar' -> 'vou A falar'). In Portuguese, drop the 'a': just 'vou falar'.
Portuguese has a compound perfect tense formed with 'ter' ('to have') + the past participle. Crucially, its meaning is NOT the English present perfect. The form 'tenho falado' does not mean 'I have spoken (once, at some point)'. Instead, it means 'I have been speaking (repeatedly or continuously, lately, up to now)'. For one-off completed actions, Portuguese uses the simple preterite: falei = 'I spoke' AND 'I have spoken' (in the English sense).
| Person | ter (present) | + past participle |
|---|---|---|
| eu | tenho | falado / comido / partido |
| tu | tens | falado / comido / partido |
| ele / ela / voce | tem | falado / comido / partido |
| nos | temos | falado / comido / partido |
| eles / elas / voces | tem | falado / comido / partido |
The past participle is formed by replacing -ar -> -ado and -er/-ir -> -ido. Irregulars include: feito (fazer), dito (dizer), visto (ver), posto (por), aberto (abrir), escrito (escrever), vindo (vir). The participle stays invariable in this compound (does not agree). Time markers that co-occur: ultimamente, nestes ultimos dias, esta semana, ha algum tempo. Common error: translating English 'I have eaten' as 'tenho comido'. If you mean 'I ate (already, once)', say 'ja comi'. If you mean 'I've been eating (a lot, lately)', then 'tenho comido' works.
The polite way to ask for something or express a wish is 'gostaria de + infinitivo'. It's the conditional of 'gostar' ('to like'), and unlike 'querer + infinitivo', this pattern requires the preposition 'de' between the conjugated verb and the infinitive. It corresponds closely to English 'I would like to'. The conditional endings (-ia, -ias, -ia, -iamos, -ieis, -iam) are the same for all three conjugations.
| Person | gostar (conditional) | + de + infinitive |
|---|---|---|
| eu | gostaria | de falar / de comer / de ir |
| tu | gostarias | de falar / de comer / de ir |
| ele / ela / voce | gostaria | de falar / de comer / de ir |
| nos | gostariamos | de falar / de comer / de ir |
| eles / elas / voces | gostariam | de falar / de comer / de ir |
Use it in shops, restaurants, hotels, and any formal context: 'Gostaria de reservar uma mesa', 'Gostaria de um cafe, por favor'. Note that 'gostaria de + noun' works too (gostaria de um cafe = 'I'd like a coffee'). For 'I'd like you to do X' (different subject), switch to 'gostaria que voce + imperfect subjunctive': Gostaria que voce viesse ('I'd like you to come'). The pattern 'gostava de + infinitivo' (imperfect indicative) is the equally common PT colloquial equivalent: Gostava de ir ao cinema ('I'd like to go to the cinema').
To express an action in progress right now ('I am eating'), Portuguese uses two distinct regional constructions. This is one of the most visible grammatical splits between European Portuguese (PT) and Brazilian Portuguese (BR), and getting it wrong immediately flags you as the wrong-flavor speaker.
Brazilian Portuguese (BR): estar + gerundio (-ndo form)
Formed with estar + the -ndo gerund: falando, comendo, partindo. The gerund is invariable.
| Person | estar | + gerundio |
|---|---|---|
| eu | estou | falando / comendo / partindo |
| voce / ele / ela | esta | falando / comendo / partindo |
| nos | estamos | falando / comendo / partindo |
| voces / eles / elas | estao | falando / comendo / partindo |
European Portuguese (PT): estar a + infinitivo
Formed with estar + the preposition 'a' + the bare infinitive.
| Person | estar | + a + infinitive |
|---|---|---|
| eu | estou | a falar / a comer / a partir |
| tu | estas | a falar / a comer / a partir |
| voce / ele / ela | esta | a falar / a comer / a partir |
| nos | estamos | a falar / a comer / a partir |
| voces / eles / elas | estao | a falar / a comer / a partir |
Both structures describe present-moment actions (estou comendo = estou a comer = 'I'm eating right now') and can also describe past-progressive states with 'estar' in the imperfect (estava comendo / estava a comer = 'I was eating'). Beyond progressive aspect, the -ndo gerund appears in PT too, but in non-progressive uses (Saiu correndo / a correr = 'he left running'). Stick to the variant of your audience. A safe neutral move in writing aimed at both is to use neither and rely on the simple present (Como agora = 'I'm eating now').
'Poder' covers English 'can', 'may', and 'to be able to', followed directly by an infinitive with no preposition. It expresses ability, permission, possibility, and polite requests. 'Poder' is irregular in the present indicative, and its preterite (pude, pudeste, pode...) is also distinct from the present 3rd-singular form (pode), so context disambiguates.
| Person | poder | + infinitive |
|---|---|---|
| eu | posso | falar / comer / partir |
| tu | podes | falar / comer / partir |
| ele / ela / voce | pode | falar / comer / partir |
| nos | podemos | falar / comer / partir |
| eles / elas / voces | podem | falar / comer / partir |
Uses: (1) Ability: Posso nadar dez quilometros ('I can swim ten kilometers'). (2) Permission: Posso entrar? ('May I come in?'). (3) Possibility: Pode chover ('It might rain'). (4) Polite request: Pode me passar o sal? / Pode passar-me o sal? ('Could you pass me the salt?'). The conditional 'poderia' makes a request more polite: 'Poderia me ajudar?' For 'know how to', Portuguese uses 'saber + infinitivo', not 'poder' (Sei nadar = 'I know how to swim'; Posso nadar agora = 'I can swim now / I'm allowed to swim now'). A common error is confusing them: 'I can swim' as a learned skill is 'sei nadar', not 'posso nadar'.
Both verbs mean 'to be', but they split the conceptual territory differently. The detailed contrast is in the 'Ser vs estar' section above. Here's the quick cheat sheet for picking the right one on the fly.
| Use SER for... | Use ESTAR for... |
|---|---|
| Identity, name, profession (Sou medico) | Temporary state (Estou cansado) |
| Origin, nationality (Sou do Brasil) | Current location of people/things (Estou em casa) |
| Material (A mesa e de madeira) | Current condition (A sopa esta fria) |
| Time, date, day (Sao tres horas) | Mood / how you feel right now (Esta feliz) |
| Possession (O livro e meu) | Result of a recent change (A loja esta fechada) |
| Permanent characteristics (Ela e alta) | Progressive aspect aux: estar + gerundio / a + inf |
Quick contrasts where the choice changes the meaning:
| Sentence | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Ele e nervoso | He's a nervous person (trait) |
| Ele esta nervoso | He's nervous right now (state) |
| Ela e bonita | She is pretty (general) |
| Ela esta bonita | She looks pretty today (occasion) |
| O cafe e bom | Coffee is good (in general) |
| O cafe esta bom | This coffee is good (right now) |
For city/building location (permanent), Portuguese prefers 'ficar' or 'ser': Lisboa fica em Portugal / Lisboa e em Portugal. For people and movable things, 'estar' is the rule.
Standard negation places nao directly before the verb (or before any clitic pronoun attached to it): Nao falo ingles. Object pronouns sit between nao and the verb in proclisis: Nao me viu. Portuguese uses double negation freely when a negative word follows the verb: Nao vi ninguem ('I didn't see anyone' — literally 'not saw nobody'); Nao tenho nada. If the negative word precedes the verb, nao is dropped: Ninguem veio. In BR colloquial speech, an emphatic clause-final nao is common: Nao sei nao ('I really don't know'). Other negatives: nunca (never), jamais (never/ever), nada (nothing), nenhum/-a (no, none), nem (nor, not even).
Yes/no questions are formed simply by rising intonation; word order stays SVO. Voce fala portugues? Subject-verb inversion is not required (though possible in writing). Wh-questions use interrogatives: o que / que (what), quem (who), onde (where), quando (when), como (how), por que (why; BR also spelled porque/por que/porque depending on position; PT writes porque), quanto/-a (how much), qual / quais (which). BR frequently inserts the focusing 'e que' after the wh-word: Onde e que voce mora? ('Where do you live?'). The bare form Onde voce mora? is also fine. Echo questions and tag questions use nao e? (often pronounced 'ne?' in BR).
Most nouns add -s for the plural: livro -> livros, casa -> casas. Nouns ending in -r, -s, -z add -es: mulher -> mulheres, mes -> meses, luz -> luzes. Most ending in -m change -m to -ns: homem -> homens, jardim -> jardins. Nouns ending in -al, -el, -ol, -ul drop -l and add -is: animal -> animais, papel -> papeis, lencol -> lencois, paul -> pauis. Nouns ending in -il stressed change to -is (funil -> funis); unstressed -il becomes -eis (facil -> faceis). Nouns ending in -ao have three plural patterns: -oes (the commonest: cancao -> cancoes), -aes (pao -> paes), and -aos (mao -> maos) — these must be memorized.
Reflexive verbs take a pronoun (me, te, se, nos, vos, se) that refers back to the subject. Many describe daily routines: chamar-se (to be called), levantar-se (to get up), deitar-se (to lie down/go to bed), lavar-se (to wash), vestir-se (to get dressed), sentar-se (to sit down), lembrar-se (to remember), esquecer-se (to forget). The infinitive is usually cited with the clitic attached by a hyphen. In actual sentences, placement again splits by variant: BR prefers proclisis (Eu me chamo Pedro), PT enclisis in neutral affirmatives (Eu chamo-me Pedro). After negatives, conjunctions, and wh-words, both variants use proclisis: Nao me lembro. Reciprocal reflexives mean 'each other': Eles se amam / amam-se.
The 2nd-person system varies sharply by region. PT keeps tu (informal singular) with proper 2nd-person verb forms (tu falas) and uses voce as a polite/formal alternative. BR has mostly lost tu (except in the South and Northeast, often with 3rd-singular verbs: tu fala) and uses voce as the all-purpose 'you'. Formal address in both variants uses o senhor / a senhora ('sir/madam'), always with 3rd-person verbs: O senhor pode me ajudar? Clitic placement (me, te, se, lhe, o/a...) is the largest written-grammar split: BR proclisis is the default everywhere; PT enclisis is the default, with proclisis triggered by negation, subordinators, wh-words, certain adverbs (ja, sempre, talvez), and indefinites. After future/conditional verbs, PT inserts the clitic into the middle of the verb (mesoclisis): dar-lhe-ei ('I will give to him/her').
Portuguese has a rich set of nasal vowels written with a tilde (ã, õ) or by a vowel followed by m or n in the syllable coda (sim, bom, dente). Nasalized vowels are pronounced through the nose without fully closing the mouth — there is no English-style 'ng' consonant at the end. The diphthong ão (as in pão, não) is the most distinctive sound: a strongly nasalized 'ow' glide. Its plural ões (canções) and the feminine ã (maçã, irmã) follow the same nasal quality. Other key nasal diphthongs: ãe (mãe, pães), õe (põe), ui (muito is pronounced 'muĩtu'). Mastering nasal vowels is essential: pão (bread) vs pau (stick), não (no) vs nau (ship) are distinguished only by nasalization.