Portuguese conjugation explanation
Accents in Ter, Vir, and derivatives
<p>In the
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/1/" target="_blank">Present Indicative</a>
, the verbs<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/por/ter/" title="Click to see conjugations for ter" target="_blank">ter</a>
(<span style="font-style: italic;">to have</span>) and<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/por/vir/" title="Click to see conjugations for vir" target="_blank">vir</a>
(<span style="font-style: italic;">to come</span>) have a critical spelling distinction between the third person singular and plural. While these forms are usually pronounced identically in most dialects, they are spelled differently to indicate the number of the subject.</p><div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Base Verbs: Ter and Vir</div>
<p>For these two irregular verbs, the singular form (S/3) has <strong>no accent</strong>, while the plural form (P/3) takes the <strong>circumflex accent (^)</strong>.</p>
<ul>
<li>
<div><strong>ter</strong> (to have)</div>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Ele <span class="green_emphasis">tem</span> dinheiro. (<span style="font-style: italic;">He has money.</span>)</div>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Eles <span class="green_emphasis">têm</span> dinheiro. (<span style="font-style: italic;">They have money.</span>)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div><strong>vir</strong> (to come)</div>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Ela <span class="green_emphasis">vem</span> aqui hoje. (<span style="font-style: italic;">She is coming here today.</span>)</div>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Elas <span class="green_emphasis">vêm</span> aqui hoje. (<span style="font-style: italic;">They are coming here today.</span>)</div>
</li>
</ul>
<p>See the highlighted forms in the tables below:</p>
<div class="study_conjugations_tense_container">
<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/1/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Presente</a>
<div class="study_conjugations_conjugation conjugations_table two_columns">
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
eu
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">tenho<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
tu
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">tens<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
ele
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">tem<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
nós
</span>temos
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
vós
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">tendes<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
eles
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">têm<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_tense_container">
<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/1/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Presente</a>
<div class="study_conjugations_conjugation conjugations_table two_columns">
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
eu
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">venho<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
tu
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">vens<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
ele
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">vem<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
nós
</span>vimos
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
vós
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">vindes<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
eles
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">vêm<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Derivative Verbs</div>
<p>Verbs derived from <span style="font-style: italic;">ter</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">vir</span>—such as
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/por/manter/" title="Click to see conjugations for manter" target="_blank">manter</a>
(<span style="font-style: italic;">to maintain</span>),<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/por/conter/" title="Click to see conjugations for conter" target="_blank">conter</a>
(<span style="font-style: italic;">to contain</span>), and<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/por/deter/" title="Click to see conjugations for deter" target="_blank">deter</a>
(<span style="font-style: italic;">to detain</span>)—follow a slightly different rule.</p><p>Because these verbs have multiple syllables and the stress falls on the last syllable (oxytones ending in <span style="font-style: italic;">-em</span>), accent rules require an <strong>acute accent (´)</strong> in the singular form. The plural form keeps the <strong>circumflex accent (^)</strong>.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>ter:</strong> tem (S/3) → têm (P/3)</li>
<li><strong>manter:</strong> mant<span class="green_emphasis">ém</span> (S/3) → mant<span class="green_emphasis">êm</span> (P/3)</li>
<li><strong>conter:</strong> cont<span class="green_emphasis">ém</span> (S/3) → cont<span class="green_emphasis">êm</span> (P/3)</li>
</ul>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Examples with Derivatives</div>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">A não-violência <span class="green_emphasis">contém</span> um poder enorme. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Non-violence contains an enormous power.</span>)</div>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence_note">(Subject is singular → acute accent)</div>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Estes livros <span class="green_emphasis">contêm</span> erros. (<span style="font-style: italic;">These books contain errors.</span>)</div>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence_note">(Subject is plural → circumflex accent)</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_tense_container">
<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/1/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Presente</a>
<div class="study_conjugations_conjugation conjugations_table two_columns">
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
eu
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">mantenho<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
tu
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">manténs<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
ele
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">mantém<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
nós
</span>mantemos
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
vós
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">mantendes<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
eles
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">mantêm<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>