The present tense in Portuguese: regular -ar, -er and -ir verbs
Three patterns, five forms each in everyday European Portuguese. Learn them once and you can use hundreds of verbs.
The three patterns
falar (to speak): falo, falas, fala, falamos, falam.
comer (to eat): como, comes, come, comemos, comem.
abrir (to open): abro, abres, abre, abrimos, abrem.
The order is: eu, tu, ele/ela/você, nós, eles/elas/vocês. Você and o senhor / a senhora use the same form as ele, and vocês the same as eles. The vós form is rare today, apart from some northern regional speech and religious language.
In real sentences
Falo inglês e um pouco de português.
I speak English and a little Portuguese.
Ao fim de semana comemos fora.
At the weekend we eat out.
A farmácia abre às nove.
The pharmacy opens at nine.
Onde moras?
Where do you live?
Try thisIn Portugal, falamos (we speak) and falámos (we spoke) are usually told apart by an accent, which also marks a more open vowel. This only happens with -ar verbs. In Brazil both are written falamos.
Quick check
Eles ___ em Lisboa. (morar)
Practise it properly
Primeiros passos (A1) and Passo a passo (A2) teach only European Portuguese, with exercises and answer keys.
See the workbooks →