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Quick Grammar Reference
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o r t u g u e s e O n
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>>Verbs > Present Indicative
The indicative mood is the most basic mood in Portuguese (also see the sections on the subjunctive mood and the imperative mood in verbs). This is the mood that you will use for making a statement or asking a question. In the phrases he is happy and is he happy?, you use the verb "is" in the indicative mood.
The tense refers to the time period of a verb. The present tense is used to show that the action occurs around the present time.
To form the present indicative, you will take the infinitive without its -ar, -er, or -ir ending (its "stem") and add the following endings. See the section on subject pronouns for more information on the pronouns listed in the left column.
| -ar verbs (falar to speak) | -er verbs (vender to sell) | -ir verbs (partir to leave) | |
| eu | -o (falo) | -o (vendo) | -o (parto) |
| tu (Portugal only) | -as (falas) | -es (vendes) | -es (partes) |
| ele, ela, você | -a (fala) | -e (vende) | -e (parte) |
| nós | -amos (falamos) | -emos (vendemos) | -imos (partimos) |
| vós (archaic) | -ais (falais) | -eis (vendeis) | -is (partis) |
| eles, elas, vocês | -am (falam) | -em (vendem) | -em (partem) |
In both Portuguese and English, you may use the present indicative to talk about actions that will occur in the very near future: partem hoje para o Brasil today they leave for Brazil. This use of the present is very common in Portuguese, especially when it refers to actions happening in the same day or the same time period.
Keep in mind that, unlike in English, it is not necessary to use a subject pronoun or a noun with the verb. Falo and eu falo both mean I speak. You may choose to use them when clarifying (ela fala she speaks, when she is not already obvious from context) or emphasizing (eles falam THEY speak).
Phrases like I'm running or he's speaking are usually translated with the present indicative (corro I run or I am running, falo I speak or I am speaking). The only exceptions are actions taking place at that exact moment. In these cases (and only in these cases!), you will use the present progressive construction that works like the English to be -ing.