Regular -IR Verbs in Portuguese

In Brief

To form the present tense of a regular Portuguese verb ending in -ir, remove -ir and add -o, -es, -e, -imos, -is, -em: partir becomes parto, partes, parte, partimos, partis, partem. In everyday speech, você uses the same form as ele/ela, while vocês uses the same form as eles/elas.

Overview

Portuguese infinitives—the dictionary forms of verbs—end in -ar, -er, or -ir. This article covers regular -ir verbs in the present tense, such as partir (to leave), abrir (to open), assistir (to watch or attend), and decidir (to decide). A verb is regular when its stem (the part left after removing the infinitive ending) follows the expected pattern without an internal change.

This is an A1 pattern that lets you speak about actions happening now, habits, routines, and even planned future events. Portuguese verb endings contain more information than English endings: parto can already mean “I leave” or “I am leaving.” The subject pronoun—the word naming who acts, such as eu or nós—is therefore often omitted when the context is clear.

The six traditional endings are easy to memorize, but the pronouns used with them vary across the Portuguese-speaking world. Modern everyday Portuguese commonly uses você/vocês, and vós has a much more limited role. Learning the full pattern gives you a reliable reference; learning the forms common in your preferred variety helps you sound natural.

How It Works

Build the stem

Start with the infinitive and remove its final -ir:

Infinitive	Meaning	Stem
partir	to leave	part-
abrir	to open	abr-
assistir	to watch; to attend	assist-
decidir	to decide	decid-

Then attach the present-tense ending that matches the subject.

The complete regular pattern

Person	Subject	Ending	partir	Basic meaning
first-person singular	eu	-o	parto	I leave / I am leaving
second-person singular	tu	-es	partes	you leave / you are leaving
third-person singular	ele, ela, você	-e	parte	he/she leaves; you leave
first-person plural	nós	-imos	partimos	we leave / we are leaving
second-person plural	vós	-is	partis	you all leave
third-person plural	eles, elas, vocês	-em	partem	they leave; you all leave

The grammatical labels simply describe the participants: first person is the speaker (eu, nós), second person is the person addressed (tu, vós), and third person is anyone else (ele, ela, eles, elas). Grammatically, você and vocês take third-person verb forms even though they address the listener.

Here is the same pattern with abrir:

Subject	Present form	English
eu	abro	I open / I am opening
tu	abres	you open / you are opening
ele/ela/você	abre	he/she opens; you open
nós	abrimos	we open / we are opening
vós	abris	you all open
eles/elas/vocês	abrem	they open; you all open

Match the form to the subject, not the meaning of “you”

English uses one word, you, for one person and for several people. Portuguese makes distinctions:

• tu partes: informal singular “you leave”; especially common in Portugal and in some parts of Brazil
• você parte: singular “you leave”; widespread in Brazil, with regional and register differences
• vocês partem: plural “you leave”; normal in Brazil and widely used in Portugal
• vós partis: traditional plural “you leave”; now uncommon in ordinary conversation, though retained in certain regions, religious language, and older or elevated texts

Do not combine a pronoun with an ending from another row in the standard pattern: use você abre, not você abres; use vocês decidem, not vocês decidis.

What the present tense can mean

The Portuguese presente do indicativo (the ordinary present tense used for facts and real situations) covers several English constructions:

1. An action now: Abro a janela. — “I’m opening the window.”
2. A habit: Assistimos ao jornal todas as noites. — “We watch the news every evening.”
3. A general fact: A loja abre às nove. — “The shop opens at nine.”
4. A planned or scheduled future: Parto amanhã cedo. — “I leave / I’m leaving early tomorrow.”

English speakers should not automatically add a separate equivalent of “am/is/are” before every action. Portuguese can use a progressive construction for special emphasis on an action in progress, but the simple present is often enough and is the core pattern here.

Negative statements and questions

Conjugation does not change in a negative statement. Put não before the verb:

• Não abrimos aos domingos. — “We do not open on Sundays.”
• Ela não decide agora. — “She isn’t deciding now.”

Questions also keep the same verb form. Speech uses intonation, while writing uses the question mark:

• Tu partes hoje? — “Are you leaving today?”
• Vocês assistem ao jogo? — “Are you watching the game?”

Examples in Context

The examples below show all six traditional persons as well as the common você/vocês forms.

Portuguese	English	Note
Eu parto amanhã.	I’m leaving tomorrow.	Present tense with future time
Tu abres a porta todas as manhãs.	You open the door every morning.	Informal singular tu
Você decide o horário.	You decide the time.	Você takes third-person singular
Ele assiste ao jogo com os amigos.	He watches the match with his friends.	Assistir a in the sense “watch”
A biblioteca abre às oito.	The library opens at eight.	Schedule or general fact
Nós decidimos ir de ônibus.	We decide to go by bus.	First-person plural
Partimos depois do almoço.	We’re leaving after lunch.	Subject pronoun omitted
Vós partis ao amanhecer.	You leave at dawn.	Traditional vós form
Elas abrem as janelas.	They open the windows.	Feminine plural subject
Vocês assistem às aulas online?	Do you attend the online classes?	Plural “you”; assistir a = attend
Os museus não abrem hoje.	The museums aren’t open today.	Negative statement
Decides agora ou mais tarde?	Are you deciding now or later?	Omitted tu, clear from -es
Eu assisto a uma série à noite.	I watch a series at night.	Habitual action
Eles partem de Lisboa às seis.	They leave Lisbon at six.	Scheduled departure

Notice that an English translation may use either a simple present (“opens”) or a present progressive (“is opening”). Portuguese does not have to mirror the English form word for word.

Common Mistakes

Keeping -ir before adding the ending

• Wrong: Eu partiro amanhã.
• Right: Eu parto amanhã.
• Why: Remove the entire infinitive ending -ir, then add -o: part-ir → part-o.

Using an -er ending with an -ir verb

• Wrong: Nós partemos agora.
• Right: Nós partimos agora.
• Why: Regular -ir verbs use -imos with nós. The form partemos does not belong to the present-tense pattern of partir.

Mixing você with the tu form

• Wrong: Você abres a loja hoje?
• Right: Você abre a loja hoje?
• Why: Você addresses the listener but requires the third-person-singular form in standard Portuguese.

Mixing vocês with the vós form

• Wrong: Vocês partis amanhã.
• Right: Vocês partem amanhã.
• Why: Vocês takes the third-person-plural ending -em. The ending -is belongs to vós.

Treating every -ir verb as regular

• Wrong: applying the unchanged stem mechanically to verbs such as pedir or dormir.
• Right: learn regular verbs with this pattern, but check unfamiliar verbs in a dictionary or conjugator.
• Why: An infinitive ending in -ir identifies the conjugation group, not a guarantee that every present-tense form is regular. Some common verbs change their stem or have other irregular forms.

Translating English “watch” without its preposition

• Less formal/careful: Ele assiste o jogo.
• Standard careful form: Ele assiste ao jogo.
• Why: In the meaning “watch” or “attend,” traditional standard usage has assistir a. The preposition combines with the article: a + o = ao and a + a = à. Direct-object use is nevertheless widespread in informal Brazilian Portuguese.

Usage Notes

Subject pronouns are often optional

Because parto, partimos, and partem have distinct endings, Portuguese often leaves out eu, nós, and eles/elas. Use a pronoun when it clarifies the subject or creates contrast:

• Parto às sete. — “I’m leaving at seven.”
• Eu parto às sete, mas ela parte às oito. — “I’m leaving at seven, but she is leaving at eight.”

The third-person form can refer to ele, ela, or você, so context matters. Likewise, a plural form may refer to eles, elas, or vocês. Speakers may include the pronoun when omission would be unclear.

Brazil and Portugal do not use every pronoun equally

In much of Brazil, você and vocês are central to everyday speech, though the use of tu varies greatly by region. In Portugal, tu is common for informal singular address and vocês can serve as a plural form, but forms of address are sensitive to relationship and register. These broad tendencies are useful starting points, not rigid rules for every speaker or region.

The vós row remains part of the full conjugation and helps when reading older literature, prayers, or certain regional texts. Most beginners need to recognize it before they need to produce it in conversation.

Spelling and pronunciation

The written stem remains stable in truly regular verbs such as partir, abrir, assistir, and decidir. The plural ending -em is written with m, but it is not pronounced like the final consonant in the English word “them”; Portuguese final -em has a language-specific nasal sound. Listening and imitation are more reliable than English spelling intuition.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following points at A1, but they explain forms you will meet later.

The same spelling can belong to another tense

For regular -ir verbs, the nós present form can look identical to a simple-past form: partimos may mean “we leave/we are leaving” or “we left.” Time expressions and context usually resolve the meaning:

• Partimos agora. — “We’re leaving now.”
• Partimos ontem. — “We left yesterday.”

This is not an irregularity; it is one written form doing two grammatical jobs.

Some common -ir verbs change their stem

Verbs such as pedir, sentir, and dormir belong to the -ir family but do not follow the unchanged-stem model in every present form. For example, pedir has peço (“I ask for”), and dormir has durmo (“I sleep”). Learn these as later stem-changing or irregular patterns rather than altering the regular rule.

Other frequent -ir verbs are strongly irregular, including ir (“to go”), vir (“to come”), and ouvir (“to hear”). Their ending alone does not make them regular.

A simple present is not always an English simple present

Portuguese can also build progressive forms to focus specifically on an action in progress. Usage differs between major varieties: Brazilian Portuguese commonly uses estar + gerúndio (a verb form comparable to English “-ing”), as in estou abrindo; European Portuguese commonly uses estar a + infinitivo, as in estou a abrir. These are later constructions. At beginner level, first become confident with abro and the other simple-present forms.

Verb meaning can affect the words that follow

Conjugation and sentence structure are separate questions. A verb may require a particular preposition. Assistir, for example, commonly takes a when it means “watch” or “attend” in careful standard usage: assistir ao filme, assistir à aula. When it means “assist or provide care to,” usage and structure may differ. A good dictionary entry gives both the meaning and the expected complement (the word or phrase that completes the verb).

Practice Tips

1. Use one stem across a six-form grid. Write part-, then add -o, -es, -e, -imos, -is, -em from memory. Repeat with abrir and decidir. Say each form aloud rather than memorizing the endings in isolation.
2. Practice the forms you will actually hear. Make short daily sentences with eu, tu or você, nós, and vocês, depending on the variety you are learning. Still learn to recognize all six traditional rows.
3. Add a time clue. Pair each sentence with agora (now), todos os dias (every day), or amanhã (tomorrow): Abro agora; abro todos os dias; abro amanhã. This trains you to understand the different jobs of the Portuguese present tense.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Subject Pronouns — learn how eu, tu, você, nós, vós, and vocês match verb persons.