Introduction
Learning how to conjugate regular ar verbs is one of the quickest wins for beginners in Brazilian Portuguese. This article explains the main patterns, gives practical vocabulary, simple dialogues, useful tips, and common mistakes so you can start using verbs like falar, trabalhar, and estudar right away.
- What are regular ar verbs?
- Present tense (Presente do Indicativo)
- Simple past (Pretérito Perfeito)
- Imperfect past (Pretérito Imperfeito)
- Future (Futuro do Presente)
- Imperative (Commands)
- Common regular ar verbs for beginners
- Pronouns and placement
- Spelling and accent tips
- Common beginner mistakes and how to avoid them
- Practice activities for beginners
- Quick reference conjugation table (regular ar verbs)
- Helpful resources and next steps
- Conclusion
What are regular ar verbs?
Regular ar verbs are Portuguese verbs whose infinitive form ends in ar, for example falar, comprar, estudar. They follow predictable patterns in every tense, which makes them ideal for beginners to master first. Once you learn the endings for each person and tense, you can apply them to hundreds of verbs.
Why start with ar verbs?
Many common verbs in Brazilian Portuguese are ar verbs, including falar (to speak), estudar (to study), trabalhar (to work), morar (to live), and comprar (to buy). Learning this group gives you immediate ability to form sentences useful in everyday conversation, travel, and basic written communication.
Present tense (Presente do Indicativo)
The present tense describes habitual actions, general truths, and near-future plans. For regular ar verbs, remove -ar from the infinitive and add the endings: o, a, a, amos, am, am. Below is the pattern using falar.
falar – remove ar -> fal-
eu falo
você/ele/ela fala
nós falamos
vocês/eles/elas falam
Examples in context
Eu falo português todos os dias.
Translation: I speak Portuguese every day.
Você fala inglês?
Translation: Do you speak English?
Nós falamos com o professor depois da aula.
Translation: We speak with the teacher after class.
Simple past (Pretérito Perfeito)
The pretérito perfeito is used to describe completed actions in the past. For regular ar verbs, remove -ar and add ei, ou, amos, aram. Using estudar as an example:
estudar – estud-
eu estudei
você/ele/ela estudou
nós estudamos
vocês/eles/elas estudaram
Examples in context
Eu estudei ontem à noite.
Translation: I studied last night.
Ela estudou para a prova.
Translation: She studied for the test.
Nós estudamos português por uma hora.
Translation: We studied Portuguese for an hour.
Imperfect past (Pretérito Imperfeito)
The imperfect tense describes repeated or ongoing actions in the past. For ar verbs the endings are ava, ava, ávamos, avam. With trabalhar:
trabalhar – trabalh-
eu trabalhava
você/ele/ela trabalhava
nós trabalhávamos
vocês/eles/elas trabalhavam
Examples in context
Quando eu era criança, eu trabalhava com meu pai aos fins de semana.
Translation: When I was a child, I used to work with my father on weekends.
Eles trabalhavam no mesmo escritório.
Translation: They used to work at the same office.
Future (Futuro do Presente)
There are two common ways to express the future. The simple future adds érei, árá, aremos, arão endings to the stem for regular ar verbs, though Portuguese speakers often use the ir + infinitive construction. Using comprar:
comprar – compr-
eu comprarei
você/ele/ela comprará
nós compraremos
vocês/eles/elas comprarão
Practical alternative: ir + infinitive
Eu vou comprar um bilhete amanhã.
Translation: I am going to buy a ticket tomorrow.
Ir + infinitive is the preferred everyday way to talk about near future plans for beginners.
Imperative (Commands)
The imperative is used for commands, requests, and recommendations. For affirmative commands, use present tense forms without the pronoun. For negative commands, use the present subjunctive (not covered deeply here, but you can form a basic negative command by using não + infinitive for informal cases). Examples with falar:
Fala com ela. (informal)
Translation: Talk to her.
Fale com o gerente. (polite/formal)
Translation: Speak with the manager.
Não falar aqui. (simple sign-like negative)
Translation: Do not speak here.
Notes for beginners
Affirmative formal commands often resemble the third-person present tense. Informal tú commands differ by region in Brazil; using você forms is safest for polite speech.
Common regular ar verbs for beginners
falar – to speak
estudar – to study
trabalhar – to work
morar – to live
comprar – to buy
chegar – to arrive
começar – to begin
ajudar – to help
Sample everyday sentences
Onde você mora?
Translation: Where do you live?
Eu preciso comprar pão.
Translation: I need to buy bread.
Ele chega às oito.
Translation: He arrives at eight.
Você pode me ajudar?
Translation: Can you help me?
Pronouns and placement
Learn the subject pronouns: eu (I), você (you singular polite), ele/ela (he/she), nós (we), vocês (you plural), eles/elas (they). Brazilian Portuguese often drops the subject pronoun because the verb ending indicates the subject, but pronouns are useful for emphasis or clarity.
Eu falo. and Falo. both mean I speak. Use the pronoun when you want to emphasize who does the action.
Spelling and accent tips
Some ar verbs change spelling when conjugated to keep pronunciation consistent. Examples: pagar (to pay) becomes eu pago in the present because a hard g sound must be preserved. Verbs ending in -çar or -gar often change c to ç or g to keep sounds. Examples: começar -> eu começo; chegar -> eu chego.
Note: These are regular ar verbs in conjugation pattern but include predictable orthographic changes. They remain regular in the endings.
Common beginner mistakes and how to avoid them
1 Confusing você and tu: In Brazil você is widely used for you. Use você + third-person verb endings: você fala, not tu falas, unless you are in regions where tu is common.
2 Forgetting subject-verb agreement: Pay attention to nós forms like nós falamos, which look identical to pretérito perfeito for eu in some verbs. Context matters: Eu estudei (I studied) vs. Nós estudamos (we study / we studied).
3 Incorrect negative commands: For clear beginners’ negation, use não + conjugated verb: Não fale agora. (Do not speak now.)
Practice activities for beginners
1 Replace the stem with different verbs: Take the pattern eu -o, você -a, nós -amos, eles -am and practice with falar, estudar, comprar, morar. Say aloud: Eu moro, Você mora, Nós moramos, Eles moram.
2 Build mini-dialogues: Create simple two-line conversations using present tense verbs. Example: Você estuda hoje? Sim, eu estudo às seis.
3 Read menus and signs: Look for verbs on menus, schedules, or signs like abrir, pagar, falar to recognize patterns in real contexts.
Mini-dialogue examples
Na cafeteria: Você quer algo? Eu quero um café. Quanto custa? Custa cinco reais. (You want something? I want a coffee. How much is it? It costs five reais.)
Na rua: Onde você trabalha? Eu trabalho no hospital. Você gosta do trabalho? Sim, eu gosto. (Where do you work? I work at the hospital. Do you like the job? Yes, I like it.)
Quick reference conjugation table (regular ar verbs)
Present: eu -o, você/ele/ela -a, nós -amos, vocês/eles/elas -am
Pretérito perfeito: eu -ei, você/ele/ela -ou, nós -amos, vocês/eles/elas -aram
Imperfect: eu -ava, você/ele/ela -ava, nós -ávamos, vocês/eles/elas -avam
Future: eu -arei, você/ele/ela -ará, nós -aremos, vocês/eles/elas -arão
Helpful resources and next steps
After mastering regular ar verbs, move to er and ir verbs, reflexive verbs, and the present subjunctive. Use flashcards for stems plus endings and practice with short real-life tasks like ordering food, giving directions, or introducing yourself.
Conclusion
Regular ar verbs are an essential foundation for Brazilian Portuguese. Focus on the stem + predictable endings, study common vocabulary like falar, morar, and comprar, and use short practical sentences to build confidence. With focused practice on the patterns and attention to common spelling changes, you will be able to communicate a wide range of everyday actions quickly.
