You verbs constitute a part of speech that is responsible for expressing an action, a state, a desire or an event, or even a natural phenomenon, that's why this class is fundamental to our communication.
The verbs inflect on time, mode, number and person, which makes its study complex. Although there are many elements that make up this class of words, the dedication to study it is necessary to reach the standard standard of our tongue.
Read too: Verbal complements: direct, indirect and passive agent
verbal structure
Verbs are classified into
- 1st conjugation verbs: terminated in -air;
- 2nd conjugation verbs: ending in -er;
- 3rd conjugation verbs: ending in -ir and -or.
The vowels "a", "e" and "i" are called thematic vowels.
The structure of the verbs consists of a radical, which is the part that usually remains fixed (in the case of regular verbs); The vowelthematic, which shows the conjugation of which the verb is part, as we presented above; and the endings, which grammatically mark the time, mode, number and person.
The basic structure is based on: stem + theme vowel + ending. The following table presents some segmented verbs to better illustrate this explanation.
Radical |
Vowelthematic |
Ending |
|
To play |
play- |
-The- |
-r |
we play |
play- |
-The- |
us |
Run |
Run- |
-and- |
-r |
ran |
Run- |
-and- |
-ram |
Leave |
Part- |
-i- |
-r |
we will leave |
Part- |
-i- |
-we will |
the verb suffers push ups, that is, it is modified according to the context in which it is inserted, changing the time, the mode, the number (plural or singular) and the people (1st, 2nd or 3rd person), in order to grammatically adapt to the rest of the environment in which it finds itself, bringing the verbal agreement. To learn more about this topic, read:verb structure.
classification of verbs
Although in the previous section the examples presented have used verbs with the regular structure, with the stem being always kept and the specific endings, this does not cover the totality of the existing verbs in our tongue. In Portuguese, there are other verbal classifications regarding structure.
Regular verbs
are the ones present an established pattern, as we observed in the previous section, in which the stem is kept and the endings are already predetermined, since they are repeated in the inflections of different verbs. It is important to emphasize that each conjugation (1st, 2nd and 3rd) has its own pattern, as they have their specific thematic vowels.
Other examples of this classification can be seen in the following section.
Irregular verbs
The change that takes place in these verbs doesn't follow a pattern. Often, the thematic endings and vowels are different from the standard and, in some cases, even the stem is different. We have, for example, the verbs to do and to know inflected in the present and past perfect indicative mood, respectively. Look:
To do | ||
Me |
I make |
I did |
You |
you do |
did you |
he/she |
Does |
Did |
We |
We do |
We did |
You |
do |
did you |
They |
do |
Made |
To know | ||
Me |
Know |
heard |
You |
you know |
did you know |
he/she |
He knows |
heard |
We |
we know |
we knew |
You |
you know |
did you know |
They |
you know |
knew |
It is possible to see that, in the present tense, the verb stems were not kept in the 1st inflections natural person and that, in the past perfect tense, the inflections of all people have this feature.
anomalous verbs
are verbs that present a profound change in their form when they are flexed. We have, for example, the verbs to be and go, in the present and past perfect indicative mood, respectively. Watch:
To be | ||
Me |
i am |
Went |
You |
you are |
you went |
he/she |
É |
Was |
We |
Are |
We were |
You |
you are |
you were |
They |
They are |
Were |
Go | ||
Me |
I will |
Went |
You |
you go |
you went |
he/she |
Go |
Was |
We |
Let's go |
We were |
You |
you go |
you were |
They |
They go |
Were |
Note that in both examples the radicals do not appear in any of the inflections. Furthermore, the inflections of the past perfect tense are the same for both verbs, which is only possible because they do not have predetermined patterns.
defective verbs
these verbs can't be inflected in every person's speech, so they are neither regular nor irregular verbs. It is the case of the verb go bankrupt and to color, which are conjugated below in the present indicative way.
go bankrupt |
To color |
|
Me |
- |
- |
You |
- |
Colors |
he/she |
- |
color |
We |
we failed |
we color |
You |
falis |
Coloris |
They |
- |
color |
abundant verbs
these verbs havemore than one way accepted by the standard norm depending on the context. As examples of abundant verbs, we have:
- Pay → paid and paid
- win → win and win
- Suspend → Suspended and Suspended
- Include → Included and Included
- Expel → expelled and expelled
- Fix → fixed and correct
Verbal moods and tenses
Verbs are inflected in verbal mannersand verb tenses. There are three verbal modes that are applied in different contexts, and in the indicative and subjunctive, one can observe the presence of different verb tenses that indicate the moment when the action occurred.
Indicative
This mode expresses the certainty that the action occurred, occurs or will occur, therefore, the verbs conjugated in the indicative mode express real possibilities for the action to occur.
Gift
Indicates something that happens at the time of speech, habits and universal truths.
To play |
Run |
Leave |
|
Me |
earring |
I run |
childbirth |
You |
jokes |
run |
parts |
he/she |
play |
Run |
Part |
We |
we play |
we run |
we leave |
You |
toys |
straps |
Partis |
They |
play |
run |
depart |
past tense perfect
Indicates actions started and completed at a time before speaking.
To play |
Run |
Leave |
|
Me |
I played |
I ran |
I left |
You |
you played |
ran |
departed |
he/she |
joked |
Ran |
Left |
We |
we play |
we run |
we leave |
You |
jokes |
you correct |
parties |
They |
played |
ran |
departed |
Imperfect past tense
Indicate something that happened before the speech, but that stopped happening or past habits.
To play |
Run |
Leave |
|
Me |
played |
ran |
departed |
You |
jokes |
running |
Parts |
he/she |
played |
ran |
departed |
We |
we played |
we ran |
we left |
You |
playable |
Rails |
Partitions |
They |
played |
ran |
departed |
Past-more-than-perfect
Indicate an action that took place before another action that took place in the past.
To play |
Run |
Leave |
|
Me |
play |
run |
departed |
You |
jokes |
runs |
broken |
he/she |
play |
run |
departed |
We |
we played |
we ran |
we left |
You |
play |
Runners |
you will leave |
They |
played |
ran |
departed |
future of the present
Indicate an action that will take place after the speech.
To play |
Run |
Leave |
|
Me |
I will play |
I will run |
I will leave |
You |
you will play |
you will run |
you will leave |
he/she |
will play |
will run |
will leave |
We |
we will play |
we will run |
we will leave |
You |
you will play |
you will run |
you will leave |
They |
will play |
will run |
will leave |
Past Future
Indicates an action that could happen, but depending on a condition. It is the only tense in the indicative way that does not express a certainty.
To play |
Run |
Leave |
|
Me |
play |
run |
would leave |
You |
jokes |
rushes |
Partiries |
he/she |
play |
run |
would leave |
We |
we would play |
we would run |
we would leave |
You |
you would play |
runways |
partirie |
They |
would play |
would run |
would leave |
Subjunctive
This mode indicates less certainty that the action would or does occur, therefore, verbs conjugated in the subjunctive mode express doubts about the possibilities of the action taking place. They are guesses, hypotheses.
Gift
Indicates hypotheses and wishes or actions that could occur.
To play |
Run |
Leave |
|
Me |
play |
Run |
leave |
You |
toys |
run |
Parts |
he/she |
play |
Run |
leave |
We |
let's play |
let's run |
let's leave |
You |
toys |
Corrals |
Partials |
They |
play |
run |
depart |
Imperfect past tense
It indicates possibilities and desires, but it has a condition for it to happen.
To play |
Run |
Leave |
|
Me |
play |
run |
left |
You |
jokes |
you run |
Parts |
he/she |
play |
run |
left |
We |
let's play |
we run |
let us leave |
You |
playful |
Corressels |
Partisiles |
They |
play |
run |
departed |
Future of the Subjunctive
Indicates the possibility of something happening later than the speech.
To play |
Run |
Leave |
|
Me |
To play |
Run |
Leave |
You |
play |
run |
leave |
he/she |
To play |
Run |
Leave |
We |
play |
we run |
we leave |
You |
games |
running |
depart |
They |
play |
Run in |
depart |
Imperative
This mode has the specific function of directing an order, a suggestion or a request to another person, which can be affirmative or negative. Therefore, this mode has no conjugation in first person singular, that is, for the subject “I” and conventionally there is the replacement of “he/she” by “you” and “they/they” by “you”.
Affirmative
To play |
Run |
Leave |
|
Me |
- |
- |
- |
You |
play |
Run |
Part |
You |
toys |
Run |
leave |
We |
let's play |
let's run |
let's leave |
You |
toys |
run |
I left |
You |
play |
run |
depart |
Negative
To play |
Run |
Leave |
|
Me |
- |
- |
- |
You |
don't play |
don't run |
do not leave |
You |
Do not play |
Do not run |
do not leave |
We |
let's not play |
let's not run |
let's not leave |
You |
don't play |
don't run |
do not leave |
You |
don't play |
don't run |
don't leave |
Also access: verb inflection
Nominal forms of verbs
It is the forms of the verbs that do not have crunches, that is, they are invariant, not showing time or mode marks. Verbs in this modality play both verb and noun functions. Each nominal form indicates something about the action of the verb. Are they:
Infinitive
- They do not indicate the time when the action takes place, only the action itself.
- end with -r, such as “playing”, “running” and “leaving”.
- Can be used as a noun in some contexts.
Example: They love to play.
Gerund
- Indicate that the action is ongoing, happening.
- end with -ndo, such as “playing”, “running” and “leaving”.
Example: She was running.
Participle
- Indicate an action that has already ended or has been completed.
- Regular verbs end in -of,as “played”, “run” and “party”.
- Can be used as adjectives in some contexts.
Example: The toy was broken in half.
verbal phrase
Sometimes two or more verbs come together to create a single meaning. It's what we call verbal phrase. In these cases, a verb has the function of auxiliary verb, which brings the grammatical information from the inflection, while the other has the function of main verb, which brings the semantics, the sense. See some examples:
- Me had played with her.
(auxiliary verb “haver” + main verb “play”) - I wanted to run every morning.
(auxiliary verb "want" + main verb "run") - Let's go very early tomorrow.
(auxiliary verb "ir" + main verb "leave")
Know more: Adverbial phrase: functions, uses, examples
verbal voices
At verbal voicesindicate the subject's relationship with the action expressed by the verb. Can be divided into:
Active voice: when the subject performs the action.
Example: The boy read the book.
passive voice: when the subject undergoes the performed action.
Example: The book was read by the boy.
reflective voice: when the subject performs and suffers the action performed at the same time.
Example: The boy combed in the morning.
