O use of verbs usually causes frequent doubts. Some of them come from orality, since the normative grammar prescribes the correct use of this class of words in the written modality. Many people transfer to writing the colloquial way they express themselves in speech and then... it's a problem for sure!
As it presents a certain degree of complexity, the study of verbs deserves special attention. Let us be aware of two special situations in the use of verbs.
* Subjunctive mode: this verb mode can easily be confused with some conjugations of the indicative mode. Being the target of frequent doubts, speakers tend to abandon the subjunctive, giving rise to another type of construction, especially with regard to the oral modality. Watch:
I believe she go to school tomorrow.
I think the teacher it is off duty
As it is a question of two assumptions, the subjunctive mode should have been used, since, in subordinate clauses, it expresses feeling, hypothesis, probability or uncertainty. Note the correctly corrected example sentences:
I believe she go to school tomorrow.
I think the teacher is off duty.
→ Important: Remember that the forms be and see, there are, therefore, nothing to use them!
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* The exchange of the past tense for the imperfect tense of the indicative: Verb conjugation causes constant doubt, especially when the verbs should be in the future imperfect tense. Look at the examples:
If the teacher didn't explain, I did wrong.
if i wanted, i was going to the theater.
The correct thing, however, is:
If the teacher didn't explain, I would makewrong.
if i wanted, iI would go to the theater.
The use of the past tense imperfect of the indicative in place of the future tense can also be considered a kind of archaism, since this construction was admitted and continues to be used in Portuguese spoken in Portugal. In Brazil, this substitution takes on the connotation of colloquiality, therefore, when in doubt, prefer the cultured norm, especially in written language.
By Luana Castro
Graduated in Letters
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
PEREZ, Luana Castro Alves. "Use of verbs"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/gramatica/uso-dos-verbos-uso-dos-verbos-casos-especiais.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
