Portuguese 2.2. Present Indicative Tense II: Irregular Verbs

In Portuguese, some verbs deviate from the general conjugation rules in the present indicative tense outlined in Level I, Lesson 6. Some of these deviations are simple and easy to apply, while others may require some practice.

Use your Anki cards to practice more examples until you master this lesson.

In addition, you can use the summary in this cheat sheet of Portuguese irregular verbs as a quick reference.

Let us examine the irregular verbs in the present indicative tense in the three verb groups: “-ar,” “-er,” and “-ir.”

#1: “-ar” Verbs

The verbs “estar” (to be) and “dar” (to give) are the most common irregular “-ar” verbs that do not follow a particular pattern of conjugation. They are important verbs that should be practiced and memorized.

In addition to the above two verbs, the following “-ar” verbs ending in “-iar” change the “i” to “ei” in all forms except “nós”:

#2: “-er” Verbs

The most common irregular “-er” verbs are:

In addition to the above verbs, there are some “-er” verbs that undergo minor spelling changes, such as:

a) Verbs that change “c” to “ç”

If the stem ends in “c,” the final stem “c” is changed into “ç” in the first-person singular to maintain the soft sound of the letter “c.” For example:

b) Verbs that change “g” to “j”

If the stem ends in “g,” the final stem “g” is changed into “j” in the first-person singular to maintain the proper pronunciation sound. For example:

c) Verbs that change “gu” to “g”

If the stem ends in “gu,” the final stem “gu” is changed into “g” in the first-person singular to maintain the hard sound of the letter “g.”  For example:

#3: “-ir” Verbs

The most common irregular “-ir” verbs are:

In addition to the above verbs, there are a few verbs that undergo minor spelling and stem changes. Most of these verbs follow some pattern and fall under one of these five categories:

1. Verbs that undergo stem changes

a) Verbs that change “e” to “i”

Many “-ir” verbs change the stem vowel from “e” to “i” in the first-person singular. For example:

Other examples include: “aderir” (to adhere), “advertir” (to warn), “convergir” (to converge), “diferir” (to differ), “digerir” (to digest), “divergir” (to diverge), “divertir” (to amuse), “ferir” (to injure), “preferir” (to prefer), “refletir” (to reflect), “referir” (to refer), “repelir” (to repel), “seguir” (to follow), “sentir” (to feel), “sugerir” (to suggest), and “vestir” (to dress).

In addition to the above verbs, there are a few verbs that change the stem vowel from “e” to “i” in all conjugation forms except the “nós” form. For example:

b) Verbs that change “o” to “u”

Many “-ir” verbs change the stem vowel from “o” to “u” in the first-person singular. For example:

Exceptionally, the verb “polir” (to polish) changes the stem vowel from “o” to “u” in all conjugation forms except the “nós” form:

c) Verbs that change “u” to “o”

Some “-ir” verbs change the stem vowel from “u” to “o” in the third-person singular and plural forms. For example:

2. Verbs that undergo minor spelling changes

Similar to the orthographic changes we encountered in some “-er” verbs, if the stem of an “-ir” verb ends in “c,” “g,” or “gu,” the final stem letter is changed into “ç,” “j,” or “g,” respectively, in the first-person singular to maintain the proper sound. For example:

3. Verbs ending in “-dir”

There are a few verbs ending in “-dir” that change the “d” into “ç” in the first-person singular only. For example:

4. Verbs ending in “-zir”

Verbs that end in “-zir” normally have no ending in the third-person singular form. For example:

5. Verbs ending in “-uir”

a) Verbs like “seguir”

Many verbs like “seguir” change the “egu” to “ig” in the first-person singular only. For example:

b) Verbs that end in “-buir”

Verbs that end in “-buir” are normally irregular in the third-person singular and the first-person plural, and have the following pattern:

c) Verbs that end in “-truir”

Some verbs that end in “-truir” are irregular in all forms except the first-person singular, and have the following pattern:

Next: The Verb “to Be”: “Ser” vs. “Estar”

Back to: Portuguese Lessons

Other lessons in Level II: