Brazilian Portuguese Verb Conjugation Guide (Ser, Ir, Ter and More)

Olá! Vamos conversar. Verb conjugation is where most English speakers freeze, and it is also where Brazilian Portuguese starts to feel like a real language in your mouth. Let's walk through the four verbs you will use every single day: ser, ir, ter and estar.

I am not going to dump every tense on you. We will focus on the three that carry almost every conversation: present, pretérito perfeito (simple past) and pretérito imperfeito (the past for habits and background).

Ser · to be (permanent, identity)

Ser describes what something is in its essence. Your name, your nationality, your profession, the day of the week. It does not move.

Estar · to be (temporary, state)

Estar is the other to be. Use it for how you feel right now, where something is located, weather and any state that can change by tomorrow.

Ir · to go

Ir is the verb of movement and, just as importantly, the verb Brazilians use to talk about the near future. Vou trabalhar amanhã. Vamos comer pizza hoje. You will hear it everywhere.

Ter · to have

Ter is one of the most useful verbs in Portuguese. It means to have, and it also covers there is and there are in everyday speech. Tem um café na esquina. There is a café on the corner.

Preterite or imperfect, how to choose

Use the pretérito perfeito for one finished action with a clear edge. Ontem eu fui à praia. Yesterday I went to the beach. It happened, it ended, story closed.

Use the pretérito imperfeito for habits, backgrounds and scenes that stretched across time. Quando eu era criança, eu ia à praia todo domingo. When I was a child, I used to go to the beach every Sunday. No clear endpoint, just a repeating picture.

Let's practice together

Adriely, sua professora brasileira. Te vejo na próxima aula.