The Portuguese language is composed of 3 moods (indicative, subjunctive and imperative) and each one is formed by a set of verb tenses.
Each verb tense, in turn, is composed of verb forms.
Verb forms are the inflections that a verb has for each pronoun. In “eu canto”, for example, “eu” is the pronoun and “canto” is the verb form.
Check out the information and understand the function of each of the modes and verbs of the Portuguese language.
Indicative mode
The indicative mood indicates actions considered real; that certainly materialize at some point in the past, present or future.
Simple verb tenses of the indicative mood
Simple verb tenses are those that only need the conjugation of the verb itself, that is, they do not need an auxiliary verb in their formation structure.
Note the difference:
- I arrived early. (simple verb tense)
- I had arrived early. (compound tense)
The indicative mood has 6 simple tenses.
Present tense
As a rule, the present tense has the function of indicating habitual action, present moment, permanent situation, characteristic of a subject or scientific truth of facts.
Examples:
- Necessary talk to her now.
- You guys are very clever.
- I study German on Saturdays.
- the northeast climate é warm.
Note the conjugation of regular verbs in the present tense, in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugations.
| love (1st conjugation) | eat (2nd conjugation) | depart (3rd conjugation) |
|---|---|---|
I Love |
I eat |
I leave |
| you love | you eat | you part |
| He loves | he eats | he leaves |
| we love | we eat | we left |
| you love | you eat | you leave |
| they love | they eat | they leave |
Exception: it is customary to use the present tense to refer to future actions. Example: I travel tomorrow.
past perfect
The past perfect tense is used to indicate an action that took place in the past and has already been completed.
Examples:
- Is it over there traveled to Mexico.
- My neighbors reformed their house.
- The baby took baby bottle.
- The teachers They arrived late.
- We we achieved reach our goal.
Note the conjugation of regular verbs in the past perfect tense, in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugations.
| love (1st conjugation) | eat (2nd conjugation) | depart (3rd conjugation) |
|---|---|---|
| I loved | I ate | I left |
| you loved | you ate | you left |
| he loved | He eat | he left |
| we love | we eat | we left |
| you loved | you ate | you left |
| they loved | they ate | they left |
imperfect tense
The imperfect tense indicates a continuous past action, that is, an action of prolonged duration in time, which may or may not have been completed.
Examples:
- Is it over there liked to make everyone laugh.
- The children played burned with schoolmates.
- I studied in the morning and my brother studied in the afternoon.
- The Lord woke up too early to go to work.
- Is it over there did delicious cakes.
Note the conjugation of regular verbs in the imperfect past tense, in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugations.
| love (1st conjugation) | eat (2nd conjugation) | depart (3rd conjugation) |
|---|---|---|
| I loved | I ate | I left |
| you loved | you ate | you left |
| he loved | he ate | he left |
| we loved | we ate | we left |
| you lovely | you ate | you left |
| they loved | they ate | they left |
Past perfect tense
The past perfect tense is a tense that indicates a past action that happened before another past action.
In addition, it is also used to refer to an action that took place in the distant past or a past action that took place in an imprecise period.
This verb tense is rarely used in everyday life. It is more common to observe its use in poetic language, in fairy tale stories, etc.
Examples:
- When I arrived at the cinema, the film was already start to.
- The airplane left when we arrived at the airport.
- The fire had consumed the entire apartment when the firefighters arrived.
- bought a high-end cell phone.
- The princess woke up with the prince's kiss
Note the conjugation of regular verbs in the pluperfect past tense indicative, in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugations.
| love (1st conjugation) | eat (2nd conjugation) | depart (3rd conjugation) |
|---|---|---|
| I would love | I ate | I left |
| you will love | you will eat | you would leave |
| he would love | he had eaten | he left |
| we would love | we would eat | we left |
| you will love | you will eat | you will leave |
| they loved | they ate | they left |
future of the present
The future of the present is the verb tense that expresses an action that will happen in the future, that is, in a future moment in relation to the speech that occurred in the present.
Examples:
- I will visit my cousins at Easter.
- Is it over there will celebrate the birthday with the family.
- His son will be born tomorrow.
- On the weekend it will rain.
- They will receive bonuses at the end of the month.
Note the conjugation of regular verbs in the future tense, in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugations.
| love (1st conjugation) | eat (2nd conjugation) | depart (3rd conjugation) |
|---|---|---|
| I will love | I will eat | I will leave |
| you will love | you will eat | you will leave |
| he will love | he will eat | he will leave |
| we will love | we will eat | we will leave |
| you will love | you will eat | you will leave |
| they will love | they will eat | they will leave |
past tense future
Although designated as “future”, the past tense actually indicates an action that could have taken place after an action that took place in the past.
It is also used to express an action that is conditioned on another; which is consequential to it.
In addition, it can indicate uncertainty, surprise, indignation, and is a polite way of expressing a wish, request or suggestion.
Examples:
- She already said no. would go to the event.
- If I could, would travel around the world.
- He would be was he the boy she had been talking about?
- Who would say that soon he would do this to us.
- Could pass me the salt, please?
Note the conjugation of regular verbs in the future tense of the indicative, in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugations.
| love (1st conjugation) | eat (2nd conjugation) | depart (3rd conjugation) |
|---|---|---|
| I would love | I would eat | I would leave |
| you would love | you would eat | you would leave |
| he would love | he would eat | he would leave |
| we would love | we would eat | we would leave |
| you would love | you would eat | you would leave |
| they would love | they would eat | they would leave |
Verbs composed of the indicative mood
Compound tenses are formed by an auxiliary verb and a main verb inflected in the past participle.
Example: She had studied hard for the test.
Note that in the sentence above, “had studied” has in its structure:
- an auxiliary verb: had, inflection of the verb “to have”;
- a main verb: studied, past participle inflection.
Regardless of the idea of tense they express (present, past and future), only the conjugation of the auxiliary verb of a compound tense varies depending on the subject. The main verb is always inflected in the past participle. Check out:
- I had studied.
- We would have studied.
- They will have studied.
Note that the main verb “studied” is maintained in all verbal persons.
Past perfect tense
The past perfect tense of the indicative mood is used to express a past action that occurred more than once, that is, with some frequency, and that extends to the present moment.
The formation structure of this tense consists of the auxiliary verb conjugated in the present tense + main verb conjugated in the past participle.
Examples:
- I have seen your brother at school.
- They have renovated the restaurant slowly.
- A-N-A have studied English on weekends.
- The children have behaved best.
- The baby have had allergic crises.
Note the conjugation of regular verbs in the past perfect tense, in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugations.
| love (1st conjugation) | eat (2nd conjugation) | depart (3rd conjugation) |
|---|---|---|
| I have loved | I have been eating | i have left |
| you have loved | you have eaten | you have left |
| he has loved | he has been eating | he's gone |
| we have loved | we have been eating | we have left |
| you have loved | you have eaten | you have left |
| they have loved | they have been eating | they have left |
Past perfect tense composed of the indicative
The pluperfect compound indicative tense indicates an action in the past that took place before another action in the past.
The formation structure of this tense consists of the auxiliary verb conjugated in the imperfect past tense + main verb conjugated in the past participle.
Examples:
- had seen your brother at school before meeting you.
- They they had renovated the restaurant little by little without knowing that they would win the lottery.
- A-N-A had studied English on weekends before traveling to the US.
- The children had behaved better before the teacher change.
- The baby I had had allergic attacks before starting the medication.
Note the conjugation of regular verbs in the past tense pluperfect compound of the indicative, in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugations.
| love (1st conjugation) | eat (2nd conjugation) | depart (3rd conjugation) |
|---|---|---|
| I had loved | I had eaten | I had left |
| you had loved | you had eaten | you had left |
| he had loved | he had eaten | he had left |
| we had loved | we had eaten | we had left |
| you had loved | you had eaten | you had left |
| they had loved | they had eaten | they had left |
Future of the present tense
The future tense of the present tense is used to indicate an action that will take place at a future time, but which will have already been completed before another action in the future.
The formation structure of this tense consists of the auxiliary verb conjugated in the future tense of the indicative + main verb conjugated in the past participle.
Examples:
- Already I will have seen your brother at school when he meets you.
- They will have reformed the restaurant when the parents retire.
- Ana already will have stayed fluent in English when traveling to the US.
- The children will have stayed more behaved when the school year ends.
- The baby will have stayed cured of allergic attacks before finishing the medication.
Note the conjugation of regular verbs in the future of the present tense, in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugations.
| love (1st conjugation) | eat (2nd conjugation) | depart (3rd conjugation) |
|---|---|---|
| I will have loved | I will have eaten | I will have left |
| you will have loved | you will have eaten | you will have left |
| he will have loved | he will have eaten | he will have gone |
| we will have loved | we will have eaten | we will have left |
| you will have loved | you will have eaten | you will have left |
| they will have loved | they will have eaten | they will have left |
Future of the past tense of the indicative
The past tense of the indicative is used to indicate an action that could have happened after another action that took place in the past. Thus, the actions expressed by the future of the past tense of the indicative are always conditioned to this past action.
The formation structure of this tense consists of the auxiliary verb conjugated in the future tense of the indicative + main verb conjugated in the past participle.
Examples:
- I she would have been present if I had been invited.
- if he doesn't had been so ignorant, she would have made more friends.
- You guys would have had a great performance in the tests if they had studied.
- You you would have done very successful if I hadn't been ashamed to sing at Karaoke.
- Is it over there would have stayed performed if he had had a grandchild.
Note the conjugation of regular verbs in the future past tense of the indicative, in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugations.
| love (1st conjugation) | eat (2nd conjugation) | depart (3rd conjugation) |
|---|---|---|
| I would have loved | I would have eaten | I would have left |
| you would have loved | you would have eaten | you would have left |
| he would have loved | he would have eaten | he would have left |
| we would have loved | we would have eaten | we would have left |
| you would have loved | you would have eaten | you would have left |
| they would have loved | they would have eaten | they would have left |
subjunctive mood
The subjunctive mood is used to indicate situations that express uncertainty, hypothesis, desire, condition or supposition.
This is a mood whose verb tenses are usually used in subordinate clauses, as they usually need a main clause with another tense to make sense.
Look at the example below:
The clause "If I won the lottery", whose verb (won) is inflected in a subjunctive tense, needs a second clause to make sense.
As such, it is subordinate to the main clause "I would buy a beach house" because it needs it to make sense.
The subjunctive mood consists of 3 simple verb tenses and 3 compound verb tenses.
Simple verb tenses in the subjunctive mood
As in the indicative mood, the simple verb tenses of the subjunctive mood only need the conjugation of the verb itself, that is, they do not need an auxiliary verb in their formation structure.
See the difference:
- If I arrived early, I would enjoy the classes better. (simple verb tense)
- If I had arrived earlier, I would have made better use of the classes. (compound tense)
The 3 simple verb tenses of the subjunctive mood are:
- Subjunctive present.
- Imperfect subjunctive.
- Future of the subjunctive.
present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is a verb tense used to express actions in the present or future.
Such actions can express wish idea, assumption and hypothesis.
The structure of this tense is formed by que + pronoun + verb.
Examples:
- they want me be happy.
- I hope you can travel with us.
- so that we let's get attend the lecture, we need to reserve our seats.
- I don't want him pretend something you don't feel.
- want them sing on the main stage of the festival.
Note the conjugation of regular verbs in the future present subjunctive, in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugations.
| love (1st conjugation) | eat (2nd conjugation) | depart (3rd conjugation) |
|---|---|---|
| that I love | let me eat | let me leave |
| that you love | that you eat | that you leave |
| that he love | let him eat | let him leave |
| that we love | that we eat | that we leave |
| that you love | that you eat | that you leave |
| that they love | let them eat | let them leave |
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is a tense used to express the idea of will, desire, imagination, feelings, probability and condition.
The actions expressed by this tense may or may not have occurred; it is something uncertain, impossible to define.
The structure of this tense is formed by se + pronoun + verb.
Examples:
- If I won the lottery, I would buy a house.
- He would have gotten an excellent grade if had studied.
- If you you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?
- We would participate in the event if we had been invited.
- If they wanted know about me, they would have already called me.
Note the conjugation of regular verbs in the past imperfect subjunctive, in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugations.
| love (1st conjugation) | eat (2nd conjugation) | depart (3rd conjugation) |
|---|---|---|
| if I loved | if I ate | if I left |
| if you loved | if you ate | if you left |
| if he loved | if he ate | if he left |
| if we loved | if we ate | if we left |
| if you loved | if you ate | if you left |
| if they loved | if they ate | if they left |
future subjunctive
The future subjunctive is a verb tense used to express actions that may still happen in a future tense. The formation structure that indicates this idea is when + pronoun + verb.
Example: When I visit my parents, I'll take each one a gift.
It can also be used to express conditional ideas. In this case, the structure used is if + pronoun + verb.
Example: If I win the lottery, I will win a new cell phone.
Check out some more examples of sentences with the future subjunctive:
- When I finish college, I will travel to Canada.
- We will visit my cousins when they enter into on vacation
- If she to arrive to the airport late, you will miss your flight.
- I will be very happy if they compose a song for me.
- We will call you when we we arrive at home.
Note the conjugation of regular future subjunctive verbs, in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugations.
| love (1st conjugation) | eat (2nd conjugation) | depart (3rd conjugation) |
|---|---|---|
|
when i love or if I love |
when i eat or if I eat |
when i leave or if I leave |
|
when you love or if you love |
when you eat or if you eat |
when you leave or if you leave |
|
when he love or if he loves |
when he eats or if he eats |
when he leaves or if he leaves |
|
when we love or if we love |
when we eat or if we eat |
when we leave or if we leave |
|
when you love or if you love |
when you eat or if you eat |
when you leave or if you leave |
|
when they love or if they love |
when they eat or if they eat |
when they leave or if they leave |
Compound verb tenses in the subjunctive mood
The formation of compound verb tenses is done with an auxiliary verb and a main verb inflected in the past participle.
Example: The teacher doesn't believe I did the work alone.
"Have done" is a compound verb of the subjunctive, as it has in its structure an auxiliary verb (to have > have) and a main verb inflected in the past participle (do > done).
Remember that in compound verb forms, only the auxiliary verb is inflected; the main verb is always inflected in the past participle, regardless of the idea of tense indicated (present, past or future).
Examples:
- I wish he have done the test calmly.
- When you have done the test, you will feel calmer
- If you have done the test, he would feel calmer.
The subjunctive mood has three compound tenses: past perfect tense, past perfect pluperfect compound and future compound.
Past perfect subjunctive
The past perfect subjunctive is a verb tense used to indicate past completed actions, which refer to a past tense or a future tense.
The formation structure of this tense is composed of the present subjunctive of the verb "to have" or of the verb "haver" (less used) + past participle of the main verb.
Examples:
- I hope he has arrived to the airport on time.
- You can't take the cake out of the oven without the dough have baked complete.
- I believe they have gone although.
- We want you now have learned prepositions in English when the course is over.
- He prefers to believe that she have said the truth.
Note the conjugation of regular verbs from the past perfect compound of the subjunctive, in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugations.
love (1st conjugation) |
eat (2nd conjugation) | depart (3rd conjugation) |
|---|---|---|
| that I have loved | that I have eaten | that I have left |
| that you have loved | that you have eaten | that you have left |
| that he loved | that he has eaten | that he has left |
| that we loved | that we have eaten | that we have left |
| that you have loved | that you have eaten | that you have left |
| that they loved | that they have eaten | that they have left |
Past perfect pluperfect compound subjunctive
The pluperfect compound subjunctive is a tense used to express past actions that happened before another past action.
It can also be used to indicate unreal situations from the past.
The formation structure of this tense is composed of the verb "ter" inflected in the imperfect subjunctive + past participle of the main verb.
Examples:
- If he had warned that it was late, we would have waited.
- I wouldn't have gotten into this hole if had lent pay attention to signs.
- if we we had heard our parents, we wouldn't have made that decision.
- If they had done a savings account with the prize money, they would have become millionaires.
- I'm sure Maria's future would have been bright if she you would have had opportunity to finish their studies.
Note the conjugation of regular pluperfect verbs composed of the subjunctive, in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugations.
love (1st conjugation) |
eat (2nd conjugation) | depart (3rd conjugation) |
|---|---|---|
|
if I had loved or that I would have loved |
if I had eaten or that I had eaten |
if I had left or that I had left |
|
if you had loved or that you would have loved |
if you had eaten or that you had eaten |
if you had left or that you would have left |
|
if he had loved or that he would have loved |
if he had eaten or that he had eaten |
if he had left or that he had left |
|
if we had loved or that we would have loved |
if we had eaten or that we had eaten |
if we had left or that we had left |
|
if you had loved or that you would have loved |
if you had eaten or that you had eaten |
if you had left or that you had left |
|
if they had loved or that they would have loved |
if they had eaten or that they had eaten |
if they had left or that they had left |
Future compound subjunctive
The future compound subjunctive is used to express a future action that will have been completed before another future action.
The formation structure of this tense is composed of the simple future of the subjunctive + main verb in the past participle.
Examples:
- I will call you when I has arrived to your building.
- When I has finished the proof, I will ask my father to pick me up.
- If I have forgotten clothes on the line, can you pick it up for me?
- We'll have to go back if I have left documents at home.
- When I have solved this situation, I will invite you to come visit me for a few days.
Note the conjugation of regular verbs from the future compound of the subjunctive, in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugations.
love (1st conjugation) |
eat (2nd conjugation) | depart (3rd conjugation) |
|---|---|---|
|
when i have loved or if I loved |
when i have eaten or if i have eaten |
when i'm gone or if I'm gone |
|
when you have loved or if I had loved |
when you have eaten or if i have eaten |
when you're gone or if i have left |
|
when he has loved or if he loved |
when he has eaten or if he has eaten |
when he's gone or if he's gone |
|
when we have loved or if we loved |
when we've eaten or if we have eaten |
when we're gone or if we left |
|
when you have loved or if you have loved |
when you have eaten or if you have eaten |
when you're gone or if you left |
|
when we have loved or if we loved |
when we've eaten or if we have eaten |
when we're gone or if we left |
Imperative mode
The imperative mood is a verbal mood used to indicate actions where the receiver of the message receives a request, an order, a suggestion, an advice, a warning, an orientation and other types of recommendation.
The verb tenses of the imperative mood are subdivided into two: affirmative imperative and negative imperative.
affirmative imperative
The affirmative imperative expresses an indication to the receiver of the message through an affirmation.
Examples:
- Close the door, please.
- Speak slowly!
- Place a little more seasoning to enhance the flavor.
- Study to do well on the test.
- send your answers as soon as possible.
This verb tense is not conjugated in the first person singular because it expresses the idea that someone communicates with someone else.
Note the conjugation of regular verbs in the affirmative imperative, in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugations.
| love (1st conjugation) | eat (2nd conjugation) | depart (3rd conjugation) |
|---|---|---|
| - | - | - |
| love you | eat you | part you |
| love you | eat you | leave you |
| love us | let's eat | let's go |
| love you | eat you | leave you |
| love you | eat you | leave you |
negative imperative
The negative imperative expresses an indication to the receiver of the message through a negative sentence.
Examples:
- Please don't close the window.
- Don't speak so slowly!
- Don't put more salt in the food.
- Don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today!
- Don't forget to reply to the boss's email.
Like the affirmative imperative, the negative imperative is not inflected in the first person singular (I).
Note the conjugation of this tense in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugations.
| love (1st conjugation) | eat (2nd conjugation) | depart (3rd conjugation) |
|---|---|---|
| - | - | - |
| don't love you | you don't eat | you don't leave |
| don't love you | don't eat you | don't leave you |
| don't love us | don't eat us | let's not leave |
| don't love yourselves | don't eat yourselves | you don't leave |
| don't love you | don't eat you | don't leave you |
nominal forms
Although they are not part of either the moods or the verb tenses, the nominal forms are of great importance in the conjugation of verbs.
The designation of “nominal form” is due to the fact that, sometimes, they present the function of a name.
They are divided into three groups: infinitive, gerund and participle
simple noun forms
love (1st conjugation) |
eat (2nd conjugation) | depart (3rd conjugation) |
|---|---|---|
| infinitive: love | infinitive: eat | infinitive: leave |
| participle: beloved | participle: eaten | participle: broken |
| gerund: loving | gerund: eating | gerund: leaving |
Compound Noun Forms
| love (1st conjugation) | eat (2nd conjugation) | depart (3rd conjugation) |
|---|---|---|
| infinitive: have loved | infinitive: have eaten | infinitive: to have left |
| gerund: having loved | gerund: having eaten | gerund: having departed |
Printable verb conjugation tables
See too:
- verbal modes
- Verb tenses