Portuguese grammar
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Portuguese grammar is the study of the grammar of the Portuguese language.
The verb
Verbs are divided into three conjugations, which can be identified by looking at the infinitive ending, one of "-ar", "-er", "-ir" (and "-or", irregular verbs). Most verbs ends with "-ar". Almost all verbs with the same ending follow the same pattern (exceptions include estar and ser). See Portuguese verb conjugation.
- cantar (to sing)
- comer (to eat)
- rir (to laugh)
- compor (to compose)
In Portuguese, verbs are divided into moods.
The imperative mood is used to address a command to someone else.
- canta (sing! to one person)
- cantem (sing! to more than one person)
The indicative mood is used to express a fact.
- simple present -- falo = "I speak"; falas = "you speak"; fala = "he speaks"
- simple past/present perfect -- falei = "I spoke"; falaste = "you spoke"; falou = "he spoke"
- past imperfect -- falava = "I spoke"
- past perfect -- falara = "I had spoken"
- simple future -- vou falar = "I will speak"
- simple future -- falarei = "I will speak"
- conditional -- falaria = "I would speak"
- present progressive -- estou falando - am speaking
- past progressive -- estava falando - was speaking
ex: Eu estou falando português (I am speaking Portuguese)
- present perfect progressive/present perfect -- tenho falado - have spoken
- future perfect -- terei falado - will have spoken
- past perfect -- tinha falado - had spoken
- conditional perfect -- teria falado - would have spoken
ex: Eu tenho falado inglês (I have been speaking/have spoken English)
The subjunctive mood is used to express a wish or possibility.
- present subjunctive -- fale - speak
- imperfect subjunctive -- falasse - spoke, were to speak
- future subjunctive -- falar - should speak (its usage is archaic in English)
- present progressive subjunctive -- esteja falando - be speaking
- past progressive subjunctive -- estivesse falando - were speaking
- future progressive subjunctive -- estiver falando - should be speaking (its usage is archaic in English)
- present perfect subjunctive -- tenha falado - were to have spoken
- past perfect subjunctive -- tivesse falado - had spoken
- future perfect subjunctive -- tiver falado - should have spoken (its usage is archaic in English)
ex: (1)Se eu estivesse falando português (If I were speaking Portuguese) (2)Se eu falasse português (If I spoke Portuguese)
The adjective
The feminine gender in adjectives is formed in a different way to that in nouns. Most adjectives ending in a consonant remain unchanged: homem superior, mulher superior. This is also true for adjectives ending in "e": homem forte, mulher forte. Except for this, the noun and the adjective must always be in agreement.
ex: (1)A mulher é linda (The woman is really beautiful) (2)O homem é lindo (The man is really handsome)