Past Tense: Regular -AR Verbs (falei, comprou)
The preterite is for finished past actions, like ticking off a 'done' list yesterday.
- • Used for actions completed in the past.
- • Drop the '-ar' and add endings like -ei, -ou, -ara...
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The preterite is for finished past actions, like ticking off a 'done' list yesterday.
Use 'Ser' for permanent definitions and 'Estar' for temporary states or locations.
When you perform an action on yourself, you must use a reflexive pronoun to act as the mirror.
Direct object pronouns (`me`, `te`, `o`, `a`) replace the 'receiver' of an action to make speech natural.
Use `e`, `mas`, and `ou` to link thoughts naturally and avoid sounding like a repetitive robot.
Master 'ter que' plus an infinitive to easily talk about your daily chores, duties, and inescapable obligations.
The imperative mood is used to give commands, instructions, or make requests. For regular verbs, use the present subjunctive form: fale! (speak!), coma! (eat!), abra! (open!). For informal tu commands...
Some common verbs have irregular imperative forms based on their subjunctive stem: dizer → diga! (say!), fazer → faça! (do/make!), ir → vá! (go!), ser → seja! (be!), estar → esteja! (be!), ter → tenha...
Diminutives are one of the most distinctive features of Portuguese! Add -inho/-inha to make things small, cute, or show affection: casa → casinha (little house), gato → gatinho (kitty). Words ending i...
Augmentatives make things bigger, stronger, or more intense. Add -ão (masculine) or -ona (feminine): carro → carrão (big car), mulher → mulherona (strong/big woman). They can express admiration, empha...
Portuguese numbers 1-20 must be memorized. From 21 on, combine with "e" (and): vinte e um (21), trinta e dois (32). Hundreds agree in gender: duzentos/duzentas. Note: 1 and 2 have gender forms: um/uma...
Ordinal numbers agree in gender and number: primeiro/primeira (1st), segundo/segunda (2nd), terceiro/terceira (3rd). Above 10th, Brazilians often switch to cardinals: "andar onze" (11th floor). Abbrev...
Days in Portuguese use cardinal numbers (not ordinals): "dois de março" (March 2nd), except the 1st: "primeiro de janeiro." Months are lowercase and not capitalized. Say dates as: day + de + month + d...
In Portuguese, prepositions contract with articles: de+o=do, de+a=da, em+o=no, em+a=na, a+o=ao, a+a=à, por+o=pelo, por+a=pela. These contractions are mandatory (not optional). Also with demonstratives...
Both "há" (from haver) and "tem" (from ter) mean "there is/there are." Há is used in writing and formal speech. Tem is common in Brazilian Portuguese spoken language. Há never changes form (always "há...
Ficar is one of the most versatile Portuguese verbs. It means: (1) to stay: fico em casa (I stay home), (2) to be located: o banco fica ali (the bank is there), (3) to become/get + emotion: fiquei fel...
Key Portuguese adverbs: muito (very/a lot), pouco (a little/few), sempre (always), nunca (never), já (already/now), ainda (still/yet), também (also), aqui (here), ali/lá (there), bem (well), mal (badl...
"Que" is the most common relative pronoun in Portuguese, meaning "that/which/who." It connects a main clause to extra information: "O homem que trabalha aqui" (The man who works here). "Que" works for...
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