Regular -AR Verbs in Portuguese

In Brief

To form the present tense of a regular Portuguese verb ending in -ar, remove -ar and add -o, -as, -a, -amos, -ais, or -am: falar becomes falo, falas, fala, falamos, falais, falam. In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, você uses the same form as ele/ela, while vocês uses the same form as eles/elas.

Overview

Verbs are words for actions, events, and states, such as “work,” “study,” and “love.” In Portuguese, the infinitive (the dictionary form of a verb) usually ends in -ar, -er, or -ir. Verbs in -ar form the largest group, so this pattern lets you use many useful verbs from the beginning: falar (to speak), trabalhar (to work), estudar (to study), and comprar (to buy).

This article focuses on the present indicative, the ordinary present-tense form used for facts, habits, current situations, and many actions happening now. It is an A1 pattern: once you know the subject and the correct ending, you can build a complete sentence such as Trabalhamos em casa (“We work at home”).

English verbs change very little in the present—usually only adding -s for “he,” “she,” or “it.” Portuguese endings carry much more information. The ending in falamos, for example, already identifies the subject as “we.” For that reason, Portuguese can often omit the subject pronoun when the context is clear.

How It Works

Start with the stem

The stem is the part that remains after the infinitive ending is removed:

Infinitive	Meaning	Remove	Stem
falar	to speak	-ar	fal-
trabalhar	to work	-ar	trabalh-
estudar	to study	-ar	estud-
comprar	to buy	-ar	compr-

Add the present-tense ending that matches the subject. A subject is the person or thing that performs the action or is in the situation described by the verb.

The complete present-tense pattern

Person	Subject	Ending	falar	Usual English meaning
first-person singular	eu	-o	falo	I speak / am speaking
second-person singular	tu	-as	falas	you speak / are speaking
third-person singular	ele, ela, você	-a	fala	he, she, you speak(s)
first-person plural	nós	-amos	falamos	we speak / are speaking
second-person plural	vós	-ais	falais	you all speak / are speaking
third-person plural	eles, elas, vocês	-am	falam	they, you all speak / are speaking

The method is consistent:

1. Find the infinitive: estudar.
2. Remove -ar: estud-.
3. Choose the ending for the subject: nós → -amos.
4. Join them: nós estudamos.

The subject and verb must match

This matching is called subject–verb agreement: the verb ending changes according to who performs the action.

• Eu trabalho. — I work.
• A Marta trabalha. — Marta works.
• O João e a Marta trabalham. — João and Marta work.
• Nós trabalhamos. — We work.

A singular name or noun takes the ele/ela form. A plural subject takes the eles/elas form. This applies even when no pronoun appears: O restaurante fecha cedo (“The restaurant closes early”), but Os restaurantes fecham cedo (“The restaurants close early”).

Você, vocês, tu, and vós

Portuguese has more than one way to say “you,” and English gives no warning about the verb form you need.

• Você refers to one person but takes a third-person singular verb: você fala, not você falas.
• Vocês refers to more than one person and takes a third-person plural verb: vocês falam.
• Tu traditionally takes the second-person singular form: tu falas. Its use and agreement vary by region.
• Vós takes -ais, but it is rare in ordinary modern conversation. It survives in some religious, ceremonial, literary, and regional contexts.

For a beginner, learn the complete six-form pattern so that you can recognize it. In Brazilian Portuguese, prioritize eu, você/ele/ela, nós, and vocês/eles/elas. In European Portuguese, tu is very common in informal singular address, while vocês and other ways of addressing a group depend on context and register.

Subject pronouns are often omitted

Because the ending can identify the subject, Portuguese does not always need an explicit pronoun:

• Falo português. — I speak Portuguese.
• Estudamos à noite. — We study at night.
• Trabalham aqui. — They work here / You all work here.

The last sentence can be ambiguous without context because several subjects share trabalham. Brazilian Portuguese tends to state subject pronouns more often than European Portuguese, especially você and vocês, but omission remains normal when the subject is already clear.

What the simple present can mean

The Portuguese present is used for several common purposes:

Use	Portuguese	English
habit	Estudo todas as manhãs.	I study every morning.
fact	A loja fecha às seis.	The store closes at six.
current situation	Trabalho em Lisboa.	I work in Lisbon.
action happening now	Ela fala com o médico.	She is speaking to the doctor.
scheduled near future	Viajamos amanhã.	We travel / are traveling tomorrow.

Unlike English, Portuguese does not always require a separate “am/is/are + -ing” form for something happening now. The simple present can do that job when the context makes the timing clear. Portuguese also has a progressive construction, discussed under Advanced Use below.

Negatives and basic questions

The conjugation itself does not change in a negative sentence. Put não before the verb:

• Eu não trabalho aos domingos. — I do not work on Sundays.
• Eles não compram carne. — They do not buy meat.

Portuguese questions usually keep the same basic words and verb form; speech uses question intonation, and writing uses a question mark:

• Você fala português? — Do you speak Portuguese?
• Vocês estudam aqui? — Do you all study here?

English uses do/does in these questions and negatives. Portuguese does not add an equivalent helper word.

Examples in Context

Portuguese	English	Note
Eu falo português.	I speak Portuguese.	First-person singular; core concept example.
Tu trabalhas muito.	You work a lot.	Traditional tu agreement.
A Ana estuda medicina.	Ana studies medicine.	A singular name takes the ela form.
Você compra pão aqui?	Do you buy bread here?	Você takes third-person singular.
Nós estudamos história.	We study history.	First-person plural in -amos.
Eles compram pão.	They buy bread.	Third-person plural; core concept example.
Falo com a minha mãe todos os dias.	I speak with my mother every day.	Eu is understood from -o.
O museu fecha às cinco.	The museum closes at five.	A regular schedule.
Não trabalhamos aos sábados.	We do not work on Saturdays.	Não comes before the verb.
Vocês moram perto da estação?	Do you all live near the station?	Vocês takes third-person plural.
Ela prepara o jantar agora.	She is preparing dinner now.	The simple present describes an action in progress.
As crianças brincam no jardim.	The children play / are playing in the garden.	A plural noun takes the -am form.
Jantamos com amigos amanhã.	We are having dinner with friends tomorrow.	Present tense with a stated future time.
Vós falais com clareza.	You speak clearly.	Correct but uncommon in everyday speech.

Common Mistakes

Keeping the infinitive after a subject

• Wrong: Eu falar português.
• Right: Eu falo português.
• Why: In a normal present-tense statement, the verb must be conjugated. Falar is the dictionary form; falo agrees with eu.

Combining você with the tu ending

• Wrong: Você trabalhas aqui?
• Right: Você trabalha aqui?
• Why: Although você means “you,” grammatically it takes the third-person singular form, like ele and ela.

Using a singular verb with a plural subject

• Wrong: Meus amigos estuda português.
• Right: Meus amigos estudam português.
• Why: Meus amigos is plural, so the verb needs the plural ending -am.

Adding English-style do to a question

• Wrong: Faz você fala português?
• Right: Você fala português?
• Why: Portuguese does not use a form of fazer (“to do/make”) as an auxiliary (a helper verb) to build ordinary present-tense questions.

Confusing written -am and -ão

• Wrong: Eles estudarão todos os dias when describing a current habit.
• Right: Eles estudam todos os dias.
• Why: Present-tense -am and future -ão are different endings. Estudam means “they study”; estudarão means “they will study.” Their stress and pronunciation are also different.

Assuming every verb ending in -ar is fully regular

• Wrong: Eu estar cansado. / Eu esto cansado.
• Right: Eu estou cansado.
• Why: A verb’s infinitive ending tells you its conjugation class, but not that it is regular. Common verbs such as estar and dar have irregular present forms and must be learned separately.

Usage Notes

Regional choices for “you”

There is no single pronoun pattern used identically across the Portuguese-speaking world. In much of Brazil, você is common, although tu is widely used in several regions. Depending on the region and speaking style, tu may appear with traditional agreement (tu falas) or with a third-person form (tu fala) in informal speech. The latter is common in some varieties but is not the agreement normally taught as the standard written pattern.

In Portugal, tu falas is the normal informal singular pattern. Você can sound neutral in some settings but distant, marked, or impolite in others; speakers often use a name, title, or simply omit the pronoun. These social choices do not alter the central conjugation rule: tu corresponds to falas, and third-person forms correspond to subjects such as ele, ela, and grammatically third-person forms of address.

Pronunciation matters

In falamos, the stressed syllable is la: fa-la-mos. In falam, stress also falls on the stem: fa-lam. The exact pronunciation varies by region, but the final written -m does not sound like a strong English m; it helps mark a nasal sound. Listen to whole forms rather than trying to pronounce each letter as if it were English.

Common verbs that follow the pattern

Useful regular verbs include ajudar (help), andar (walk), chegar (arrive), cozinhar (cook), dançar (dance), esperar (wait/hope), fechar (close), morar (live/reside), perguntar (ask), preparar (prepare), viajar (travel), and visitar (visit). Meaning and context still matter: for example, esperar can mean “to wait,” “to hope,” or “to expect.”

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master these details at A1, but they explain forms you will soon encounter.

Spelling changes can preserve pronunciation

Some verbs are regular in their endings but change spelling in certain forms so that the consonant sound stays consistent. For example:

• ficar → eu fico (“I stay”)
• pagar → eu pago (“I pay”)
• começar → eu começo (“I begin”)

These are often called orthographic or spelling changes rather than true irregularity. The ending is still -o; Portuguese spelling rules require a different written consonant before it.

The progressive differs across regions

To emphasize that an action is in progress, Brazilian Portuguese commonly uses estar + gerund (an -ndo form): Estou estudando (“I am studying”). European Portuguese commonly uses estar a + infinitive: Estou a estudar. The simple present Estudo agora can still describe what is happening now, but the progressive makes the ongoing nature explicit.

-amos may be present or past

For regular -ar verbs, the first-person plural form can look identical in the present and in the completed simple past: estudamos. Context usually resolves the meaning:

• Estudamos português todas as semanas. — We study Portuguese every week.
• Estudamos português ontem. — We studied Portuguese yesterday.

The past use belongs to the Preterite, an A2 topic.

A present form can point to the future

As in English “We leave tomorrow,” Portuguese often uses the present for a planned or scheduled future event when a time expression makes the meaning clear: Viajamos na sexta-feira (“We’re traveling on Friday”). This is not a new conjugation; context supplies the future interpretation.

Practice Tips

1. Build forms from a single stem. Choose five useful verbs such as falar, trabalhar, estudar, comprar, and morar. Write the stem once, then produce the six endings in the same order: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -ais, -am.
2. Practice by subject, not only by verb. Describe one routine with changing subjects: Eu trabalho em casa. A Ana trabalha no centro. Nós trabalhamos juntos. This trains agreement in realistic sentences.
3. Listen for pronouns and endings. When you hear Portuguese, note whether the speaker says tu, você, or no pronoun at all. Pay special attention to -amos and -am, since these endings quickly reveal a plural subject.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Subject Pronouns — learn how Portuguese identifies the person performing the action.
• Useful companion: Basic Negation — turn statements such as trabalho into não trabalho.
• Useful companion: Gostar (to like) — study a very common -ar verb and the preposition it requires.
• Next step: Reflexive Verbs — add reflexive pronouns to conjugated verbs.
• Next step: Ir (to go) — compare this regular pattern with an essential irregular verb.
• Next step: Poder (can/to be able) — combine an irregular modal verb with an infinitive.
• Later topic: Preterite (Pretérito Perfeito) — describe completed past actions and understand ambiguous forms such as estudamos.
• Later topic: Imperative Mood — learn how related forms are used for commands and requests.