The Portuguese Verb

Verb (Verbo)

The Portuguese verb has preserved with only few and easily recognizable modifications the system of the Latin verbal endings. According their infinitive endings, are classified in 3 conjugations (grupos):

I conjugation: -ar	II conjugation: -er	II conjugation: -ir
amar to love comprar to buy falar to speak passear to walk	dever must querer to want, love (woman) viver to live vender to sell	pedir to ask sair to come out servir to serve distinguir to distinguish

The verbal endings are characteristical of the person and the usage of the personal pronouns as verbal Subjects accomplishes rather emphatical functions.

There are 4 simple tenses in Portuguese (the Present, the Past, the Imperfect, the Pluperfect Simple and the Future) and 3 compound tenses constructed with the auxiliary ter (or haver) to have and the past passive participle. Moreover, there are used specific verbal constructions to express immediate intention, recent accomplishment, continuisness, reiteration, obligation etc. Portuguese has 5 verbal moods -- indicative, subjunctive, imperative, infinitive and potential (or conditional) mood. As compared with Latin, Portuguese lost the Future Imperative and developed (like Spanish) the Future Subjunctive. The Latin present and future participles were only sporadically preserved in Portuguese as verbal adjectives (like ausente absent, presente present or futuro future). A specific feature of the Portuguese verbal system is the invention of the Personal Infinitive.

The passive voice is formed analytically with the auxiliary ser to be and the past passive participle.

See also Forms of treatment.

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