Master the Portuguese Present Tense: Full Guide

The Portuguese present tense is the tense you learn first and use most. It talks about habits and routines, general truths, what is happening right now, and fixed plans for the near future. One tense does all of that, which is why getting its forms right matters more than any other tense. This guide gives you the full formation rules for regular -ar, -er and -ir verbs, the spelling changes that catch learners out, the irregular verbs that break the pattern, the usage rules with examples, the contrast with the neighbouring tenses, the mistakes learners make, and a quiz to check yourself. All forms come from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables, and every verb linked from this page has its own full conjugation page.

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for Portuguese verbs, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

How the present tense is formed

Take the infinitive, remove the -ar, -er or -ir ending, and add the present endings. For -ar verbs the endings are -o, -as, -a, -amos, -ais, -am. For -er verbs the endings are -o, -es, -e, -emos, -eis, -em. For -ir verbs the endings are -o, -es, -e, -imos, -is, -em. Notice that the three conjugations share the eu ending -o and the ele ending, and that the -er and -ir conjugations differ only in the nós and vós endings. Here are the three model verbs:

falar (-ar verb)

Person Form
eu falo
tu falas
ele/ela fala
nós falamos
vós falais
eles/elas falam

Gerund: falando. Past participle: falado.

comer (-er verb)

Person Form
eu como
tu comes
ele/ela come
nós comemos
vós comeis
eles/elas comem

Gerund: comendo. Past participle: comido.

partir (-ir verb)

Person Form
eu parto
tu partes
ele/ela parte
nós partimos
vós partis
eles/elas partem

Gerund: partindo. Past participle: partido.

Spelling changes in the present tense

Some regular verbs change their spelling in the present to keep the sound right. The pronunciation stays regular; only the letters move.

Verbs in -car and -gar: keep the hard sound with qu and gu. Ficar keeps its hard c sound in the eu form by writing qu: eu fico, tu ficas, ele fica, nós ficamos, vós ficais, eles ficam. Without the qu, the c before e would sound soft. Chegar does the same with gu: eu chego, tu chegas, ele chega. The same rule gives the subjunctive forms fique and chegue, and it applies in the future and the conditional too, wherever an e or i follows the stem.

Verbs in -cer: the c becomes ç before a and o. Conhecer writes ç in the eu form: eu conheço, tu conheces, ele conhece. Nascer works the same way: eu nasço, tu nasces, ele nasce. The ç keeps the soft sound before a and o; before e and i the plain c already sounds soft, so the subjunctive is conheça and nasça.

Verbs in -çar: the ç stays in the present indicative. Começar keeps its ç in every present form, because the present endings are -o, -as, -a, -amos, -ais, -am: eu começo, tu começas, ele começa, nós começamos, vós começais, eles começam. The ç is part of the stem, not a spelling trick, so it never disappears in the present indicative. Check the table on the verb’s own page before you guess — the verified forms are the authority, and this guide never asks you to derive a form by analogy.

A vowel change to notice: dormir

Dormir is regular in the verified tables, but one form deserves a second look: the eu form is durmo, with u, while the other persons keep o — tu dormes, ele dorme, nós dormimos, vós dormis, eles dormem. The subjunctive keeps the u throughout: eu durma, tu durmas, ele durma. Learn the eu form on its own and the rest of the verb follows the plain -ir pattern.

Irregular verbs in the present tense

Most Portuguese verbs are regular in the present, but the most frequent verbs are not — and those are the ones you use every day. The patterns below cover almost every irregular present you will meet. For the complete list, see the Portuguese irregular verbs page.

Totally irregular: ser (eu sou, tu és, ele é, nós somos, vós sois, eles são), estar (eu estou, tu estás, ele está, nós estamos, vós estais, eles estão), ter (eu tenho, tu tens, ele tem, nós temos, vós tendes, eles têm) and ir (eu vou, tu vais, ele vai, nós vamos, vós ides, eles vão). These four have to be learnt whole — no rule produces them. Note the eu form of ser: eu sou, and the ele form with its accent, ele é. Note too that ter distinguishes ele tem from eles têm by the accent alone.

Haver: haver (eu hei, tu hás, ele há, nós havemos, vós haveis, eles hão). Haver is mostly impersonal in everyday speech: há means “there is” or “there are”, and it is the form you will meet most often. The personal forms hei, hás, havemos, haveis and hão survive mainly in formal and literary Portuguese.

Dar, ver and vir: dar (eu dou, tu dás, ele dá, nós damos, vós dais, eles dão), ver (eu vejo, tu vês, ele vê, nós vemos, vós vedes, eles veem) and vir (eu venho, tu vens, ele vem, nós vimos, vós vindes, eles vêm). Dar is unusual in the ele form — ele dá — and ver has an accent in the singular and the AO90 form veem in the third-person plural, with no circumflex. Vir changes its stem completely: venho, vens, vem, vimos, vindes, vêm.

The modal verbs: poder (eu posso, tu podes, ele pode, nós podemos, vós podeis, eles podem), saber (eu sei, tu sabes, ele sabe, nós sabemos, vós sabeis, eles sabem) and querer (eu quero, tu queres, ele quer, nós queremos, vós quereis, eles querem). Poder expresses ability and is always followed by an infinitive. Saber means to know a fact, and querer expresses wishes and wants. Learn them early and use them often, because they appear in almost every conversation.

Fazer and dizer: fazer (eu faço, tu fazes, ele faz, nós fazemos, vós fazeis, eles fazem) and dizer (eu digo, tu dizes, ele diz, nós dizemos, vós dizeis, eles dizem). Both change their stem in the singular: faço, fazes, faz, and digo, dizes, diz. Fazer covers both “to do” and “to make”, and dizer is the verb for reporting speech.

Ler, escrever, ouvir and morrer: ler (eu leio, tu lês, ele lê, nós lemos, vós ledes, eles leem), escrever (eu escrevo, tu escreves, ele escreve, nós escrevemos, vós escreveis, eles escrevem), ouvir (eu ouço, tu ouves, ele ouve, nós ouvimos, vós ouvis, eles ouvem) and morrer (eu morro, tu morres, ele morre, nós morremos, vós morreis, eles morrem). Ler changes its stem in the singular — leio, lês, lê — and ouvir has the eu form ouço. Escrever is regular in the present; its irregularity lives in the pretérito perfeito and the participle.

When to use the present tense

1. Habits and routines

Eu falo português com a Maria todos os dias. — I speak Portuguese with Maria every day. Use the present for things you do regularly, with time words like todos os dias, sempre, muitas vezes, todas as semanas. Nós trabalhamos no escritório. — We work in the office. Eles comem uma pizza. — They eat a pizza.

2. General truths and facts

Lisboa é a capital de Portugal. — Lisbon is the capital of Portugal. Use the present for things that are always true, including facts and definitions. Os cães gostam de dormir. — Dogs like sleeping. O sol nasce de manhã. — The sun rises in the morning.

3. What is happening right now

Estou a falar português com a Maria. — I am speaking Portuguese with Maria. Portuguese often uses the simple present where English uses the continuous form, so eu falo can mean both “I speak” and “I am speaking”. Context tells the listener which one you mean. For an action clearly in progress, use estar plus the gerund: estou a falar.

4. Scheduled future events

Amanhã vou à escola. — Tomorrow I go to school. Use the present for something already fixed in the near future, especially with a time expression. It sounds more certain than the future tense, because the plan is already made. Partimos para Lisboa amanhã. — We leave for Lisbon tomorrow.

5. Narration and commentary

Entro em casa e vejo a Maria. — I enter the house and I see Maria. In stories, instructions and live commentary, the present brings the action into the room. A recipe, a game or a story told in the present feels immediate, and the present tense is the tense that carries it.

6. Instructions and general rules

Para fazer um bolo, começa cedo. — To make a cake, start early. Use the present, often in the imperative, for instructions and rules. The present states what you do, step by step, without any reference to a particular moment.

Present tense vs pretérito perfeito: how to choose

The closest tense to the present is the pretérito perfeito, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the present describes habits, general truths and what is happening now, while the pretérito perfeito describes one finished action in the past. The three pairs below use falar, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the present sentences use words such as todos os dias or sempre, while the pretérito perfeito sentences use ontem or na semana passada. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

  • Present: “Ele fala português com a Maria todos os dias.” — “He speaks Portuguese with Maria”
  • Pretérito perfeito: “Ele falou português com a Maria ontem.” — “He spoke Portuguese with Maria”
  • The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the pretérito perfeito sentence is one finished event. Todos os dias points to the present, ontem points to the pretérito perfeito.
  • Present: “Eu falo português com a Maria todos os dias.” — “I speak Portuguese with Maria”
  • Pretérito perfeito: “Eu falei português com a Maria ontem.” — “I spoke Portuguese with Maria”
  • The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the pretérito perfeito sentence is one finished event. Todos os dias points to the present, ontem points to the pretérito perfeito.
  • Present: “Tu falas português com a Maria todos os dias.” — “You speak Portuguese with Maria”
  • Pretérito perfeito: “Tu falaste português com a Maria ontem.” — “You spoke Portuguese with Maria”
  • The present sentence is a routine or a general truth; the pretérito perfeito sentence is one finished event. Todos os dias points to the present, ontem points to the pretérito perfeito.

Common mistakes

Mistake 1

Wrong: Using the infinitive after a subject: Eu falar português com a Maria.

The infinitive never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated form: eu falo português com a Maria. Say the six present forms in order — falo, falas, fala, falamos, falais, falam — until the right one comes without thinking.

Mistake 2

Wrong: Mixing up the persons: Eu falas português com a Maria.

Falas is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is falo. Check the person before you write the form, and learn the singular and plural as two groups: eu, tu, ele on one side, nós, vós, eles on the other.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Using the present for a finished past action: Eu falo português com a Maria ontem.

Ontem points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the pretérito perfeito: eu falei português com a Maria ontem. Time words decide the tense more often than any rule you memorise.

Mistake 4

Wrong: Forgetting the qu in -car verbs: Eu fice.

The -car stem keeps its hard c by writing qu before e and i: eu fico, and the subjunctive is fique. Without the qu the c would sound soft, and the word would be wrong. The same rule applies to every other -car verb.

Mistake 5

Wrong: Forgetting the gu in -gar verbs: Tu chegi a casa.

The -gar stem keeps its hard g by writing gu before e and i: tu chegas, eu chego, and the subjunctive is chegue. Without the gu the g would sound soft, and the word would be wrong. The same rule applies to every other -gar verb.

Mistake 6

Wrong: Confusing ser and estar: Eu sou em casa.

Ser is for identity and permanent qualities — eu sou professor — while estar is for location and temporary states — eu estou em casa. Saying eu sou em casa mixes the two verbs, and it is the most common mistake learners make with the two verbs for “to be”. Learn them as a pair, and ask first: identity or location?

Quiz: the present tense

Eight questions on the present tense. Answers with explanations follow each question.

1. What is the eu form of falar in the present tense?

  • A) falas
  • B) falo
  • C) fala
  • D) falamos

Answer: B — The correct form is falo.

2. What is the nós form of comer in the present tense?

  • A) como
  • B) comes
  • C) comemos
  • D) comem

Answer: C — The correct form is comemos.

3. What is the eles form of partir in the present tense?

  • A) parto
  • B) partes
  • C) partimos
  • D) partem

Answer: D — The correct form is partem.

4. What is the tu form of ser in the present tense?

  • A) és
  • B) sou
  • C) é
  • D) somos

Answer: A — The correct form is és.

5. What is the nós form of ir in the present tense?

  • A) vou
  • B) vamos
  • C) vais
  • D) vão

Answer: B — The correct form is vamos.

6. What is the eu form of fazer in the present tense?

  • A) fazes
  • B) faz
  • C) faço
  • D) fazemos

Answer: C — The correct form is faço.

7. What is the eles form of ter in the present tense?

  • A) tenho
  • B) tens
  • C) tem
  • D) têm

Answer: D — The correct form is têm.

8. What is the eu form of dormir in the present tense?

  • A) durmo
  • B) dormes
  • C) dorme
  • D) dormimos

Answer: A — The correct form is durmo.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Portuguese present tense used for?

Habits and routines, general truths, what is happening right now, and fixed plans for the near future. It is the most used tense in the language, and the first one to learn.

Are the -ar, -er and -ir present endings the same?

No. The -ar endings are -o, -as, -a, -amos, -ais, -am; the -er endings are -o, -es, -e, -emos, -eis, -em; and the -ir endings are -o, -es, -e, -imos, -is, -em. The three share the eu ending -o, and the -er and -ir conjugations differ only in the nós and vós endings. Watch the spelling changes in -car, -gar and -cer verbs, and the eu form durmo of dormir.

Which verbs are irregular in the present?

The most frequent ones: ser, estar, ter, ir, haver, dar, ver, vir, poder, fazer, dizer, saber, querer, ler, ouvir and morrer. The full list is on the Portuguese irregular verbs page.

When do I use the present for the future?

When the plan is already fixed and you give a time: amanhã vou à escola, partimos para Lisboa amanhã. For predictions and promises, use the future: irei, partiremos.

How do I practise the present tense?

Conjugate one verb a day in all six persons, in sentences, not as a bare list. Then use the Present Tense Conjugator and the Verb Quiz to test yourself.

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