Verb tenses and moods

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

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See too:

• verbal modes
• Verb tenses