Portuguese Grammar

Personal subject pronouns (eu, tu, ele/ela/você, nós, vós, eles/elas/vocês). Note: você/vocês is common in Brazil (replacing tu in most regions), while tu is common in Portugal.

Grammatical gender (masculine/feminine) of Portuguese nouns. Most nouns ending in -o are masculine, -a are feminine. Exceptions: o dia, o problema, a mão, a foto.

Regular plural adds -s to vowels. Words ending in consonants add -es. Special: -ão→-ões/-ães/-ãos, -al/-el/-ol→-ais/-éis/-óis, -m→-ns.

Definite articles (o, a, os, as) agree in gender and number with the noun. Used more often than in English (with possessives, proper nouns in Brazil).

Indefinite articles (um, uma, uns, umas) meaning 'a/an' (singular) or 'some' (plural). Often omitted with professions after ser.

Irregular verb 'ser' (sou, és, é, somos, sois, são) for identity, origin, profession, time, characteristics. Essential distinction from 'estar'.

Irregular verb 'estar' (estou, estás, está, estamos, estais, estão) for location, temporary states, feelings, progressive tenses, and results of actions.

Basic distinction: ser for permanent/inherent qualities, estar for temporary states/locations. Some adjectives change meaning: ser rico (wealthy) vs estar rico (delicious).

Irregular verb 'ter' (tenho, tens, tem, temos, tendes, têm). Used for possession and as auxiliary in compound tenses. Also in expressions: ter fome, ter sede, ter medo, ter razão.

Present tense conjugation of regular -ar verbs (falar, trabalhar, estudar, comprar). Largest verb class. Endings: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -ais, -am.

Present tense conjugation of regular -er verbs (comer, beber, escrever, viver). Endings: -o, -es, -e, -emos, -eis, -em.

Present tense conjugation of regular -ir verbs (partir, abrir, assistir). Endings: -o, -es, -e, -imos, -is, -em.

Highly irregular verb 'ir' (vou, vais, vai, vamos, ides, vão). Used for motion and to form near future (ir + infinitive). Takes preposition 'a' before destinations.

Irregular verb 'fazer' (faço, fazes, faz, fazemos, fazeis, fazem) with weather expressions (faz calor/frio) and common phrases (fazer desporto, fazer anos).

Irregular verb 'poder' (posso, podes, pode, podemos, podeis, podem). Expresses ability, permission, or possibility + infinitive.

Irregular verb 'querer' (quero, queres, quer, queremos, quereis, querem). Expresses desire or wish. Used with infinitive or noun.

Verbs with reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nos, vos, se): chamar-se, levantar-se, deitar-se, vestir-se. Pronoun placement varies by sentence type.

Impersonal 'há' for existence ('there is/there are'). Also for time expressions (há dois anos = two years ago / for two years). Invariable form.

Negation with 'não' before the verb. Double negatives are standard: não...nada, não...ninguém, não...nunca. Unlike Spanish, single negative word after verb doesn't negate alone.

Adjective agreement: -o/-a/-os/-as for most adjectives. Two-form adjectives (-e, -l, -z) only change for plural. Most adjectives follow the noun.

Most adjectives follow the noun, but some common ones precede: bom, mau, grande, pequeno, novo, velho. Some change meaning by position (grande homem vs homem grande).

Possessives agree with possessed noun: meu/minha/meus/minhas, teu/tua/teus/tuas, seu/sua/seus/suas, nosso/nossa/nossos/nossas. In Brazil, 'seu' often replaced by 'dele/dela'.

Three-level system: este/esta (near speaker), esse/essa (near listener), aquele/aquela (far from both). Contractions with prepositions: deste, neste, naquele.

Basic location prepositions: em (in/on/at), de (from/of), a (to), com (with), sem (without), entre (between), sobre (on/about), debaixo de (under), em frente de (in front of), atrás de (behind).

Mandatory contractions: de + o = do, em + a = na, a + o = ao, por + o = pelo. Also with demonstratives: de + este = deste, em + aquele = naquele.

Question words: quem (who), o que/que (what), onde (where), quando (when), como (how), porquê/por que (why). Word order often unchanged, marked by intonation.

Question words for quantity: quanto/a/os/as (how much/many), qual/quais (which/what). Quanto agrees in gender/number with the noun.

Cardinal numbers 0-100. Um/uma agrees in gender. Numbers 16-19 can be written as one word (dezasseis). Cem (100) vs cento (101+).

Ordinal numbers: primeiro, segundo, terceiro, quarto, quinto, sexto, sétimo, oitavo, nono, décimo. Agree in gender/number. Written abbreviated: 1.º/1.ª

Telling time (Que horas são? É uma hora. São duas horas.), days of the week, months, expressing dates. Uses definite article with days and months.

Adverbs of frequency (sempre, muitas vezes, às vezes, raramente, nunca) and time (hoje, amanhã, ontem, agora, depois, primeiro, então).

Adverbs of place: aqui/cá (here), aí (there near you), ali/lá (there far), perto (near), longe (far), dentro (inside), fora (outside), em cima (up), em baixo (down).

Quantity words: muito/a/os/as and pouco/a/os/as agree with nouns; as adverbs (with verbs/adjectives), they're invariable. Muito = very/much, pouco = little/few.

Direct object pronouns (me, te, o/a, nos, vos, os/as) replace direct objects. Position varies: usually after verb in Portugal (vejo-te), before in Brazil (te vejo).

Indirect object pronouns (me, te, lhe, nos, vos, lhes) for 'to/for someone'. Lhe = to him/her (formal you), lhes = to them. Position rules same as direct pronouns.

Regular verb 'gostar' always followed by 'de': gostar de + noun/infinitive. Unlike Spanish gustar, it conjugates normally with subject doing the liking.

Common coordinating conjunctions: e (and), ou (or), mas (but), porém (however), porque (because), então (so), portanto (therefore).

Simple past for completed actions. Regular endings: -AR (-ei, -aste, -ou, -ámos, -astes, -aram), -ER/-IR (-i, -este, -eu/-iu, -emos/-imos, -estes/-istes, -eram/-iram).

Common irregular preterites: ser/ir (fui), estar (estive), ter (tive), fazer (fiz), dizer (disse), vir (vim), poder (pude), pôr (pus), saber (soube), trazer (trouxe).

Past tense for habitual actions, descriptions, ongoing states. Regular endings: -AR (-ava, -avas, -ava, -ávamos...), -ER/-IR (-ia, -ias, -ia, -íamos...). Few irregulars: ser, ter, vir, pôr.

Immediate future formed with ir + infinitive. Expresses planned or imminent actions. Vou comer, vais estudar, vai chover.

Progressive with estar + gerund (-ando/-endo/-indo). For actions in progress. Brazil uses estar + gerund; Portugal often uses estar a + infinitive.

Comparative forms: mais...do que (more than), menos...do que (less than), tão...como (as...as), tanto/a/os/as...como (as much/many as). Irregulars: melhor, pior, maior, menor.

Commands: tu form from present (fala! come!), você/vocês use subjunctive forms. Negative uses não + subjunctive. Pronouns attach to affirmative commands.

Basic relative pronouns: que (who/which/that - most common), quem (who - for people, after prepositions). Que is invariable.

Combining indirect + direct pronouns: me + o = mo, te + a = ta, lhe + os = lhos. Contractions vary between Portugal and Brazil usage.

Reflexive verbs in preterite and imperfect. Pronoun placement rules apply. In Brazil, pronoun often precedes verb; in Portugal, follows (with hyphen).

Future tense formed with infinitive + endings (-ei, -ás, -á, -emos, -eis, -ão). Irregular stems: fazer→far-, dizer→dir-, trazer→trar-. Often replaced by ir + infinitive in speech.

Conditional formed with infinitive + imperfect endings of haver (-ia, -ias, -ia, -íamos, -íeis, -iam). Same irregular stems as future. Used for polite requests, hypotheticals.

Contrast between tenses: perfeito for completed actions at specific times, imperfeito for background, habits, descriptions. Often used together in narratives.

Subjunctive mood for wishes, doubts, emotions, necessity after que. Formed from eu stem: -AR (-e, -es, -e, -emos, -eis, -em), -ER/-IR (-a, -as, -a, -amos, -ais, -am).

Expressions requiring subjunctive: querer que, esperar que, é necessário que, é possível que, oxalá, antes que, para que, embora, quando (future).

Past-before-past: compound form (tinha + participle) more common than simple form. For actions completed before another past action.

Superlative forms: o/a/os/as mais/menos + adjective (+ de). Irregular: o melhor (the best), o pior (the worst), o maior (the biggest), o menor (the smallest). Absolute superlative: -íssimo/a.

Additional relative pronouns: onde (where), cujo/a/os/as (whose - agrees with possessed noun). O qual/a qual for formal contexts with prepositions.

Passive formed with ser + past participle (agrees with subject). Agent introduced by por. Also passive se construction: fala-se português.

Reported speech with verbs like dizer, perguntar, responder. Tense backshift when reporting verb is past. Que for statements, se for yes/no questions.

Unique Portuguese feature: infinitive that conjugates for person (-es, -mos, -des, -em). Clarifies subject in infinitive clauses. É importante estudarmos.

Impersonal expressions: é preciso/necessário + infinitive or que + subjunctive. É possível, é importante. Há que + infinitive (one must).

If-then constructions: Se + present → future/imperative (real), Se + imperfect subjunctive → conditional (unreal present). Caso, a menos que.

Complex ser/estar distinctions: adjectives changing meaning, passive ser vs resultant estar, ser casado vs estar casado (regional).

Past subjunctive from third person plural preterite: -sse endings (falasse, comesse, partisse). Used after past tense verbs, in unreal conditionals, with oxalá for unlikely wishes.

Unique to Portuguese: future subjunctive for uncertain future. From third person plural preterite stem: -ar→-ar, -er/-ir→-er/-ir. Used with quando, se, enquanto, assim que for future.

Present perfect subjunctive: present subjunctive of ter (tenha, tenhas...) + past participle. For past actions in subjunctive contexts when main verb is present.

Conditional perfect: conditional of ter (teria, terias...) + past participle. For hypotheticals about the past, regrets. Teria querido, teriam vindo.

Third conditional: Se + pluperfect subjunctive → conditional perfect. For contrary-to-fact past situations. Mixed conditionals also possible.

Past perfect subjunctive: imperfect subjunctive of ter (tivesse) + past participle. For past hypotheticals, wishes about the past.

Future perfect: future of ter (terei, terás...) + past participle. For actions completed before a future point, or for probability about past events.

Complex pronoun placement rules: proclisis (before verb) after negation, question words, subordinate clauses; mesoclisis (within verb) in future/conditional; enclisis (after) otherwise.

Formation: feminine adjective + -mente (lentamente, rapidamente). With multiple adverbs, only last takes -mente (lenta e cuidadosamente).

Literary pluperfect: single verb form from preterite stem + -ra endings (falara, comera, partira). Used in formal writing, literature. Often replaced by compound form in speech.

Complex uses of personal infinitive: compound forms (ter + participle), passive forms (ser + participle), in place of subjunctive in certain contexts.

Complex tense agreement in subordinate clauses. Main clause in past → subordinate in imperfect/pluperfect subjunctive or future subjunctive for still-future events.

Formal vocabulary and constructions: mediante, não obstante, em virtude de, no âmbito de, em conformidade com. Business and legal language patterns.

Converting verbs/adjectives to nouns for formal style: desenvolver→desenvolvimento, possível→possibilidade. Common suffixes: -ção, -mento, -dade, -ncia.

Emphatic constructions: é que (foi Maria que fez), o que...é (o que quero é paz), clivagem (quem fez foi ele), topicalization.

Affective suffixes: -inho/a (affection, smallness), -zinho/a (after nasal/stressed vowel), -ão/ona (augmentative), -aço (augmentative/blow). Regional variation.

Systematic differences: pronoun placement, use of estar a vs gerund, você vs tu, vocabulary (autocarro/ônibus, telemóvel/celular), pronunciation patterns.

Informal spoken Portuguese: interjections (pá!, bué, fixe, giro - PT; cara, legal, mano - BR), gíria, truncation, filler words.

Advanced connectors for argumentation: no entanto, todavia, contudo, por conseguinte, com efeito, é de salientar que, cumpre referir.

Stylistic constructions: lítotes (understatement), hipérbole, pergunta retórica, quiasmo, anáfora. Sentence fragmenting for effect.

Bureaucratic and legal Portuguese: passive constructions, nominalization, technical terms, formal closings, fixed expressions in official documents.