Regular verbs: what they are, structure, examples

Youregular verbs are those conjugated according to a same pattern, that is, the verb stem does not vary and the endings follow the same basic structure. The inflections are standardized within each of the three conjugations, which are observed from the ending of the verbs in the infinitive, the first conjugation with the ending -ar, the second with the ending -er and the third with the ending -go.

Read too: Adverbs - words that modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs

verb structure

Radical is the part of the word that generally remains the same in the different conjugations of the verb, because it is the root of the word (ie the base of it). Ending it is the part of the word that changes according to the conjugation. In addition to them, verbs have a thematic vowel, which defines the conjugation of which the verb is part. Watch:

Radical	Thematic vowel	Ending
love	m-	-The-	-r
sell	sell-	-and-	-r
leave	part-	-i-	-r

Conjugation of regular verbs

Verbs have three classifications according to the calls thematic vowels

. These vowels are important because they define the structure of the endings, that is, the way the conjugations end, which will be the same for other verbs with the same thematic vowel.

Let's learn more about each one.

• first conjugation

the verbs of first conjugationhave the thematic vowel The, so they end in -air: amair, talkair and playair.

Regular first conjugation verbs have the same ending. See the present tense conjugation:

Radical	Thematic vowel	1st conjugation ending
me	m-	-O
you	m-	-The-	-s
he/she	m-	-The
we	m-	-The-	us
you	m-	-The-	-is
they	m-	-The-	-m

Regular first conjugation verbs follow this basic structure. The verbs "to speak" and "to play", for example, are conjugated in the same way, just replace the radical of the table. The radical does not undergo any modification in its form.

If we change the tense, leaving the present tense of the indicative to the perfect tense of the indicative, the stem will remain the same and only the ending will undergo adaptation. Look:

Radical	Thematic vowel	1st conjugation ending
me	m-	-Hey
you	m-	-The-	-ste
he/she	m-	-or
we	m-	-The-	us
you	m-	-The-	-theses
they	m-	-The-	-ram

Note that the verbs “to speak” and “to play” continue to follow the same conjugation.

See too: Prepositions - word class responsible for making the union between words

• second conjugation

the verbs of second conjugation have the thematic voweland, so they end in –er, as in seller, haser and sweeper. See how the verb "sell" is conjugated in the present tense:

Radical	Thematic vowel	2nd conjugation ending
me	sell-	-O
you	sell-	-and-	-s
he/she	sell-	-and
we	sell-	-and-	us
you	sell-	-and-	-is
they	sell-	-and-	-m

Regular second conjugation verbs also follow this basic structure. Test it out by substituting the radical of sell for the radical of "fear" and "sweep".

Now, let's see what happens in the conjugation of the future of indicative:

Radical	Thematic vowel	2nd conjugation ending
me	sell-	-and-	-King
you	sell-	-and-	haha
he/she	sell-	-and	-frog
we	sell-	-and-	-we will
you	sell-	-and-	-kings
they	sell-	-and-	-ran

Note that, again, only the ending has been modified. This also happens with other regular verbs, such as "fear" and "sweep".

• third conjugation

the verbs of third conjugationhave the thematic vowel i, ending in -go. It is the case of partgo, watchgo and aprgo.

Radical	Thematic vowel	3rd conjugation ending
me	part-	-O
you	part-	-es
he/she	part-	-and
we	part-	-i-	us
you	part-	-i-	-s
they	part-	-in

We already know that regular third conjugation verbs follow this same basic structure. The verbs “assistir” and “open” will also be conjugated in the same way, just by changing the stem.

Let's see what happens in the conjugation of the future of the past tense:

Radical	Thematic vowel	3rd conjugation ending
me	part-	-i-	-laugh
you	part-	-i-	-rias
he/she	part-	-i-	-laugh
we	part-	-i-	-we would
you	part-	-i-	-reais
they	part-	-i-	-laughed

Again, the ending is the only part of the verb that has been modified. This tendency is repeated with other regular verbs, such as “assistir” and “open”, being enough to replace the stem to check.

Also access: Pronouns – words that can replace the noun

Regular and irregular verbs

we saw that regular verbs have a very strict pattern, changing only the ending according to the person and the tense.

In addition to the regular verbs, we have the irregular verbs. These are different because, as the name implies, some of its forms present changes that do not only occur in the ending (as in the case of regulars). They don't follow a pattern as fixed as regular ones, so there are changes in flexion and sometimes even in the radical. See some examples.

O verb "give" it has different endings, in addition to not having a fixed stem depending on the conjugation. Note that in the conjugations “gid”, “we would” and “give”, we have different structures from the one that would be basic for the first conjugation.

You verbs "want" and "measure" they are also irregular because they do not have conjugations similar to those that would be the basic ones for regular verbs: “quis” and “meço” have different endings from regular verbs.

Regular verbs are conjugated in a standardized and fixed way.

solved exercises

Question 1 - Which verb is regular and correctly classified according to its conjugation?

A) Ser - 2nd conjugation

B) Open - 1st conjugation

C) Speaking - 2nd conjugation

D) Work - 1st conjugation

E) Cover - 3rd conjugation

Resolution

Alternative D. The verb “to be” is not regular (change in the stem); the verb “to open” is from the 3rd conjugation; the verb “to speak” is from the 1st conjugation; and the verb “cover” is not regular (change in the stem).

Question 2 - (Ceperj - adapted)

Regular verbs are those that have an invariant stem and their endings are coincident with most verbs of the same conjugation. The alternative where the verbs are regular is:

A) "What may interest us is the phrase issued by the agency"

B) "I don't know if Lilia Cabral has ever advertised for mass grouting"

C) "no one will want her, no one will tell her there if I catch you!"

D) “If you don't come in full dress, if you don't advance in the red carpet"

E) "to create images in accordance with it and the desires that inhabit it"

Resolution

Alternative E. The verbs "create" and "habitar" are both regular 1st conjugation. The other alternatives have non-regular verbs: "can", "know", "do", "want", "say" and "come".