Brazilian Portuguese Present Tense: A Beginner Guide to Regular Verbs
Use a small set of present-tense patterns to talk about routines, preferences, and everyday actions in Brazilian Portuguese.
Real Life Portuguese · 9 min read · Updated October 14, 2026
The short answer
Most Portuguese verbs in the dictionary end in -ar, -er, or -ir. These endings help you recognize the main regular verb groups: falar (to speak), comer (to eat), and abrir (to open). To conjugate a regular verb in the present, remove the infinitive ending and add an ending that matches the subject.
Find the infinitive ending: -ar, -er, or -ir
Start with verbs you need for daily life. Falar helps you describe languages, comer helps you discuss food, and morar helps you say where you live. The present can describe routines and current facts. Context tells you which meaning is intended, so pair each form with a natural sentence rather than learning only a chart.
Eu falo português com a minha professora.
I speak Portuguese with my teacher.
A gente come em casa durante a semana.
We eat at home during the week.
Eles abrem a loja às nove.
They open the shop at nine.
Conjugate regular -ar verbs with falar
For a regular -ar verb such as falar, the common present forms are eu falo, você/ele/ela fala, nós falamos, and vocês/eles/elas falam. A gente also uses fala. In Brazil, you will often hear você and a gente in everyday conversation. The same broad pattern appears in estudar (to study), trabalhar (to work), and morar (to live).
Notice that você and ele/ela share fala, and vocês and eles/elas share falam. A pronoun or context can make the subject clear. Use this pattern to talk about a routine, then change the verb while keeping the sentence frame.
Eu trabalho perto do centro.
I work near downtown.
Você estuda de manhã?
Do you study in the morning?
Nós moramos longe da praia.
We live far from the beach.
Compare common -er and -ir verbs
Regular -er verbs include comer (to eat) and aprender (to learn). Regular -ir verbs include abrir (to open) and assistir (to watch). For example, você come, você aprende, você abre, and você assiste. The endings differ between groups, but the subject still guides the form. Practice one verb from each group in the same sentence frame.
Some very common verbs are irregular, including ser, estar, ir, and ter. Do not force them into the regular patterns in this guide. Learn those high-frequency verbs separately and use this article as a dependable starting point for regular verbs. Knowing which pattern applies is more useful than trying to memorize every verb at once.
Eu aprendo uma expressão nova por semana.
I learn a new expression each week.
Ela come fruta depois do almoço.
She eats fruit after lunch.
Vocês assistem a filmes brasileiros?
Do you all watch Brazilian films?
Practice verb endings with a daily routine
Choose three actions from your day and say who does each one. Use eu for yourself, você for one person, a gente or nós for a group including you, and vocês for multiple listeners. Repeat with a new regular verb. This simple substitution drill helps you retrieve the endings during a real conversation.
When listening, notice the verb ending and its subject together. If the pronoun is omitted, use the situation to infer who is acting. For a broader overview, connect this lesson to Real Life Portuguese guides on subject pronouns and the present-tense verbs learners hear most often. I Speak Portuguese offers teacher-led practice if you want feedback on speaking aloud.
Eu preparo o café e minha irmã prepara o almoço.
I make coffee and my sister makes lunch.
A gente aprende português com exemplos curtos.
We learn Portuguese with short examples.
Vocês trabalham, estudam ou fazem os dois?
Do you work, study, or do both?
Put it into practice
Identify the infinitive ending first, then match the subject: falar, comer, and abrir each give you a regular present-tense pattern to reuse.
Quick practice
Which Portuguese example matches “I speak Portuguese with my teacher”?
Choose an answer to check yourself.
Keep practicing with the Real Life Portuguese app
Build on this guide with everyday expressions and native Brazilian audio. Choose iPhone, Android, or the web app.