As mentioned, verbs are split into three groups: -ar verbs -er verbs -ir verbs Now we’ll deal with the 3rd and final group: -IR verbs! IR Verb Endings The regular -IR verb conjugations are almost the same as the -ER verbs, except for one little difference… can you spot it? 🤔
Regular -IR Verbs in the Present Tense
Indefinite Articles in Portuguese
How to Say A, An, & Some In Portuguese We just learned how to say “the car” using definite articles, but what if you want to talk about “a car” in general? This is called an , because we’re talking about an undefined car, rather than a specific instance of a car. In English, we […]
Existential Quantifiers: Many, Few, Some
In this lesson, we’ll learn about . Existential quantifiers provide information about quantity without specifying an exact quantity or amount. In English, we would use words like many, few, some, so much, another, several, and plenty. Let’s take a look at how to express these concepts in Portuguese. Muito, Muita, Muitos, Muitas Muito and muita are […]
Relative Quantifiers: As Much As
In this lesson, we’ll learn about . Relative quantifiers don’t specify an exact quantity, but instead tell us about how a quantity compares in relation to an unspecified whole. As expected, the determiner used matches the gender and number of the item(s) it refers to. Quanto, Quanta, Quantos, Quantas Quanto and quanta are used in […]
Determiners vs. Pronouns
To master Portuguese, it is essential that we tackle determiners. As you may recall, we have already learned about a few types of determiners in previous units, such as articles, possessives, and demonstratives. So this will be a good opportunity to review, as well as to be introduced to some new types. In this unit, […]
Demonstrative Determiners
In this lesson, we’ll review a topic we’ve covered before, which is Portuguese demonstratives – este, esta, esse, essa, aquele, and aquela – as well as their plural forms. In Portuguese, demonstrative determiners indicate where something is in relation to to the speaker and listener in terms of place or time, and must agree in […]
Interrogative Determiners
In this lesson we’ll learn about Interrogative determiners are words we use to formulate questions or exclamations, and they are followed by nouns. There are only two of them, but they are quite important! Que Que is equivalent to “what”. Example: There is no plural form of que. Qual / Quais Qual is the singular […]
Indefinite Determiners
In this lesson, we’ll have a look at Indefinite determiners are words that express an undefined quality about the noun they’re referencing, similar to “other people”, “another beer”, or “certain things” in English. In Portuguese, indefinite determiners always agree in gender and number with the noun. Other & Another The singular forms of “other” or “another” […]
Clitic Pronouns: Nos & Vos
In this lesson we’ll explore two more clitic object pronouns in Portuguese, nos and vos. A quick reminder: With 1st person plural verbs that end in s, such as vamos, the s is dropped before adding the pronoun nos. For example: vamos + nos = vamo-nos, as in Nos Nos corresponds to us or to/for us, […]
Reflexive Pronouns
Portuguese reflexive verbs are formed by adding the reflexive pronouns me, te, se, or nos. When the direct object or indirect object represents the same person or thing as the subject of the verb, it’s expressed by a reflexive pronoun. In other words, we use reflexive pronouns when the action is something one does to […]
Definite and Indefinite Articles
In this lesson, we’ll compare Portuguese definite articles and indefinite articles. are small words that precede and define a noun. In Portuguese, articles take on different forms to agree in gender and number with the noun they define. In English, we just have the definite article the and the indefinite articles a, an, and some. […]
Clitic Pronouns: Me & Te
In this lesson we’ll explore the first two clitic object pronouns in Portuguese, me and te. A few quick reminders: No hyphens are required if they’re proclitics (placed before the verb) 2 hyphens are required if they’re mesoclitic (placed between two parts of verb) 1 hyphen is required if they’re enclitics (placed after the verb) […]
Merging Clitic Object Pronouns
In Portuguese, when we use a verb that asks for both a direct and indirect object (and the objects are known, i.e. we’re aware of what/who they are), we can create a contraction by combining the third person direct object pronoun with the indirect object pronoun. Sounds complicated, we know. Let’s see a practical example… […]
Clitic Pronouns: 3rd Person
In this lesson we’ll explore 3rd-person clitic object pronouns in Portuguese. We saved these for last because they are a little bit more complicated. Unlike the others we’ve practiced so far in the Clitic Pronouns unit, there are different forms depending on whether it’s a direct or indirect object pronoun. (Visit the introduction learning note […]
Clitic Pronouns: Direct & Indirect Objects
are one of the trickiest subjects to learn and master in Portuguese. But don’t despair — we’re here to help! Throughout these lessons you’ll learn how to use clitic object pronouns correctly, but first you should understand more about the difference between direct and indirect objects. The objects of a sentence can be represented in various […]
Object Pronouns in Portuguese
In this lesson, we’ll have a look at direct and indirect object pronouns in Portuguese. These fall into the category of , along with reflexive pronouns, which we will cover separately, but which follow many of the same rules. Keep in mind that we are focusing on how to use object pronouns in European Portuguese, as […]
Measurements in Portuguese
What do cooking, taking a trip, shopping for clothing, and building or furnishing a home have in common? They all involve measurements. To prepare you to discuss different types of measurements in Portuguese, we’re going to cover some basic Portuguese vocabulary related to length, width, height, size, weight, volume, and distance. Here are some simple […]
Degrees of Adjectives
In Portuguese, adjectives change form depending on the gender and number of the noun. Similarly to English, they can also be expressed in different : Positive Degree This is the basic form of each adjective. We use it to qualify a noun without making any comparisons. Comparative Degree You use the comparative degree to… you […]
Simple Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases
So far, you’ve learned what prepositions are and you’ve been introduced to quite a few of them. Similar to English, there are dozens of prepositions in Portuguese grammar. There are simple prepositions (single words, some of which form contractions with pronouns and articles) and there are prepositional phrases. For example: Simple preposition (de): Prepositional phrase […]
Bastante, Quase, and Realmente
In this learning note, we’ll explore 3 tricky Portuguese words that can take on very different meanings depending on their placement in a sentence or the type of word they modify: We’ve mentioned these words before, but let’s take a closer look to get more comfortable with their different uses. The Many Lives of Bastante […]
The Preposition “Com”
One very common Portuguese preposition is Like all prepositions, it’s an invariable word placed before a noun (or pronoun) to indicate the noun’s relationship to other words. When to Use “Com” Just like the English use of “with”, the preposition com is used to… Indicate people or things that are together: Say what something has, […]
Forming Negative Phrases
There are a few different ways to say no, to make a sentence negative, or to refer to a quantity that is zero. Here are some of the important words to know: Not The simplest way to make a sentence negative in Portuguese is just to place the word before the verb. This is the […]
The Imperative
When someone yells or a doctor says , there’s one thing they’re doing in common: using the mood! There are 2 types of imperatives in Portuguese: the affirmative and the negative, shown below respectively. In these examples, the speaker is talking to multiple people, i.e. using the vocês (you – plural) form. Regular Verbs in […]
Plurals in Portuguese
A challenging part of learning Portuguese is realizing that many words need to be adjusted to agree with the gender and number of the people or objects we are talking about. Let’s see a quick overview of which types of words change, and which ones stay the same to help us understand the rules for […]