Portuguese conjugation explanation

Past participle agreement

<p>In Portuguese, whether the past participle changes its ending depends on which auxiliary verb is used and the voice of the sentence. There are two main scenarios.</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">1. Active Voice (Auxiliary TER)</div>

<p>When forming compound tenses (such as the

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/134/" target="_blank">Present Perfect</a>

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/133/" target="_blank">Pluperfect</a>

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/por/ter/" title="Click to see conjugations for ter" target="_blank">ter</a>

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/por/haver/" title="Click to see conjugations for haver" target="_blank">haver</a>

<p>In this case, there is <strong>no agreement</strong>. The participle is invariant and always ends in masculine singular <strong><span class="in_word_highlight">-o</span></strong>, regardless of the gender or number of the subject or object.</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Ela <span class="brown_emphasis">tinha</span> <span class="green_emphasis">comprado</span> os livros. (<span style="font-style: italic;">She had bought the books.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence_note">Even though the subject (<span style="font-style: italic;">ela</span>) is feminine and the object (<span style="font-style: italic;">os livros</span>) is plural, the participle remains <span style="font-style: italic;">comprado</span>.</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Nós <span class="brown_emphasis">temos</span> <span class="green_emphasis">falado</span> muito. (<span style="font-style: italic;">We have spoken a lot.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">2. Passive Voice (Auxiliary SER)</div>

<p>When forming the passive voice with the auxiliary verb

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/por/ser/" title="Click to see conjugations for ser" target="_blank">ser</a>

<p>The participle must match the <strong>gender</strong> (masculine/feminine) and <strong>number</strong> (singular/plural) of the subject.</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Os livros <span class="brown_emphasis">foram</span> <span class="green_emphasis">comprados</span>. (<span style="font-style: italic;">The books were bought.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence_note">Subject <span style="font-style: italic;">os livros</span> is masculine plural → <span style="font-style: italic;">comprad<span class="in_word_highlight">os</span></span>.</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">As portas <span class="brown_emphasis">serão</span> <span class="green_emphasis">abertas</span>. (<span style="font-style: italic;">The doors will be opened.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence_note">Subject <span style="font-style: italic;">as portas</span> is feminine plural → <span style="font-style: italic;">abert<span class="in_word_highlight">as</span></span>.</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Common Mistakes</div>

<p>Learners often confuse compound tenses (using <span style="font-style: italic;">ter</span>) with adjectives or the passive voice. With <span style="font-style: italic;">ter</span>, never change the ending.</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><span class="red_emphasis">Wrong:</span> Ela tinha <span class="red_emphasis">cansada</span>.</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><span class="green_emphasis">Right:</span> Ela tinha <span class="green_emphasis">cansado</span>. (<span style="font-style: italic;">She had tired [someone/herself].</span>)</div>

<br />

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><span class="red_emphasis">Wrong:</span> As portas foram <span class="red_emphasis">aberto</span>.</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><span class="green_emphasis">Right:</span> As portas foram <span class="green_emphasis">abertas</span>. (<span style="font-style: italic;">The doors were opened.</span>)</div>

<p>Note: The passive voice often uses specific participle forms for verbs like

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/por/matar/" title="Click to see conjugations for matar" target="_blank">matar</a>

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/por/tomar/" title="Click to see conjugations for tomar" target="_blank">tomar</a>

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/conjugationExplanation/portuguese_short_long_participle/" target="_blank">short and long participles</a>