Olá, queridos alunos! (Hello, dear students!)
In this lesson, you’re going to learn what the 15 main verb tenses used in Brazilian Portuguese are.
Each one will be briefly explained, with examples in sentences to help make things clear. We’re going to use the regular verb “estudar” (to study) in all the examples so that you can compare the verb tenses more easily.
Of course, learning to use all these verb tenses fluently takes a lot of time and practice.
At the end of this lesson, you’re going to find some tips on how to learn to conjugate verbs in Portuguese more efficiently.
👉 This lesson comes with a free PDF worksheet with the summary of the lesson and exercises for you to practice. Click here to download your worksheet.
15 Verb Tenses in Brazilian Portuguese
1 – Presente do Indicativo (Simple Present)
This verb tense is used to talk about current facts, permanent states, and habitual actions. For example:
Joana estuda português todos os dias. (Joana studies Portuguese every day.)
2 – Pretérito Perfeito do Indicativo (Simple Past)
This verb tense is also simply called the “past.” It’s used to talk about a single action that happened and was completed in the past. For example:
Joana estudou português ontem. (Joana studied Portuguese yesterday.)
3 – Pretérito Imperfeito do Indicativo (Imperfect Past)
This verb tense is used to talk about habitual actions in the past or to narrate stories. For example:
Joana estudava português quando era mais jovem. (Joana used to study Portuguese when she was younger.)
4 – Futuro do Presente do Indicativo (Simple Future)
This verb tense is also simply called the “future.” It’s used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example:
Joana estudará português amanhã. (Joana will study Portuguese tomorrow.)
Besides the “future indicative,” we also use the verbal phrase known as the “immediate future,” which has exactly the same meaning and is very common in colloquial language. For example:
Joana vai estudar português amanhã. (Joana is going to study Portuguese tomorrow.)
5 – Futuro do Pretérito do Indicativo (Conditional)
This verb tense is also simply called the “conditional.” It’s used to talk about a future action that depends on another action. For example:
Joana estudaria português amanhã se não tivesse que trabalhar. (Joana would study Portuguese tomorrow if she didn’t have to work.)
This verb tense is also very commonly used to indicate politeness. For example:
Você estudaria com sua irmã, por favor? (Would you study with your sister, please?)
6 – Presente do Subjuntivo (Present Subjunctive)
This verb tense is used to talk about hypotheses, wishes, or suppositions. It can refer to the present or the future. For example:
Talvez Joana estude português hoje à tarde. (Joana might study Portuguese this afternoon.)
7 – Pretérito Imperfeito do Subjuntivo (Imperfect Subjunctive)
This verb tense is used to indicate a condition in a hypothetical situation. It’s commonly used with the conditional tense. For example:
Se Joana estudasse português, poderia se comunicar com brasileiros. (If Joana studied Portuguese, she would be able to communicate with Brazilians.)
8 – Futuro do Subjuntivo (Future Subjunctive)
This verb tense is used to talk about a possibility of something that may happen in the future. For example:
Quando Joana estudar português, poderá falar com brasileiros. (When Joana studies Portuguese, she’ll be able to speak with Brazilians.)
9 – Pretérito Perfeito Composto do Indicativo (Present Perfect Continuous)
This verb tense is used to talk about a habitual and repeated action that started in the past and continues into the present. For example:
Joana tem estudado português ultimamente. (Joana has been studying Portuguese lately.)
10 – Pretérito Mais-que-perfeito Composto do Indicativo (Past Perfect/Pluperfect)
This verb tense is used to talk about an action that happened in the past before another action in the past. It’s the past of the past. For example:
Joana já tinha estudado português quando viajou ao Brasil. (Joana had already studied Portuguese when she traveled to Brazil.)
There’s also the simple pluperfect: “Joana estudara”(Joana had studied). However, it’s a more literary tense, rarely used in spoken language.
11 – Futuro do Presente Composto do Indicativo (Future Perfect)
This verb tense is used to talk about an action in the future that will be finished before another action in the future. For example:
Semana que vem, você já terá estudado este assunto. (By next week, you will have already studied this subject.)
12 – Futuro do Pretérito Composto do Indicativo (Conditional Perfect)
This verb tense is used to talk about an action that could have happened in the past but didn’t. For example:
Joana teria estudado português ontem se tivesse tido tempo. (Joana would have studied Portuguese yesterday if she had had time.)
13 – Pretérito Perfeito Composto do Subjuntivo (Present Perfect Subjunctive)
This verb tense is used to talk about an action that may have been completed in the past, but we don’t know if it was completed or not. For example:
Espero que Joana tenha estudado para a prova. (I hope Joana has studied for the test.)
14 – Pretérito Mais-que-perfeito Composto do Subjuntivo (Past Perfect Subjunctive)
This verb tense is used to talk about a hypothetical condition prior to another action in the past. It’s a structure often used to express reproach or talk about regrets. For example:
Se Joana tivesse estudado, teria passado no teste. (If Joana had studied, she would have passed the test.)
15 – Futuro Composto do Subjuntivo (Future Perfect Subjunctive)
This verb tense is used to talk about an action that will possibly be finished before another action in the future.
It usually indicates a future condition. For example:
Quando você já tiver estudado para a prova, poderá assistir televisão. (When you’ve already studied for the test, you’ll be allowed to watch television.)
3 Tips to Learn Verb Conjugation More Efficiently
First tip:
You don’t need to know how to use all these verb tenses to communicate in Portuguese, so don’t stress out.
All these verb tenses are used in Brazil, and you will need to learn all of them to become truly fluent in Portuguese. However, some of these verb tenses are very rarely used, as they’re very specific to certain situations.
In this lesson, the verb tenses are arranged in order of importance, so we recommend that you start with the simple tenses and then move on to the compound tenses.
Second tip:
Instead of memorizing the conjugation of each verb tense individually, we recommend that you learn complete sentences and notice the patterns that repeat.
For example, the conditional is very often used with the imperfect subjunctive and vice versa:
Se eu pudesse, estudaria mais. (If I could, I would study more.)
Se eu tivesse mais tempo, leria mais livros. (If I had more time, I would read more books.)
This is a standard structure that you’ll hear all the time.
Third tip:
Do not cling so much to grammar rules, but observe the use of these verb tenses in real life. How do Brazilians really use these verb tenses in everyday life? There are many nuances that you’re only going to learn through observation.
Visit the website conjugacao.com.br for full charts of verb conjugations in Brazilian Portuguese.
Free PDF!
This lesson comes with a free PDF worksheet with the summary of the lesson and exercises for you to practice. Click here to download your worksheet.
Online Brazilian Portuguese Courses
If you enjoyed this lesson, you’ll love our courses! At Speaking Brazilian School, we offer digital courses, small group classes, and private lessons. Click here to learn more about our Brazilian Portuguese online classes.
