Portuguese conjugation explanation

Preterite European vs. Brazilian forms

<p>In the

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/2/" target="_blank">Preterite tense</a>

(<span style="font-style: italic">Pretérito Perfeito</span>), there is a spelling difference in the first person plural (<span style="font-style: italic">nós</span>) form of verbs ending in <strong>-ar</strong>.</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">European Portuguese</div>

<p>

<img class="conjugation_explanation_dialect_flag" src="/static/main/images/flags/portugal.png" height="20" width="20" />

In Portugal, this form uses an <strong>acute accent</strong> on the stem vowel: <span class="green_emphasis"><strong>-ámos</strong></span>.</p>

<p>This accent indicates that the vowel is <strong>open</strong> and distinguishes the past tense form from the present tense form (which ends in <span style="font-style: italic">-amos</span> without the accent).</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Nós <span class="green_emphasis">chegámos</span> atrasados ontem. (<span style="font-style: italic">We arrived late yesterday.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Brazilian Portuguese</div>

<p>

<img class="conjugation_explanation_dialect_flag" src="/static/main/images/flags/brazil.png" height="20" width="20" />

In Brazil, this form is written without the accent: <span class="green_emphasis"><strong>-amos</strong></span>.</p>

<p>Because this spelling is identical to the

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/1/" target="_blank">Present Indicative</a>

form, you must rely on context to determine if the verb refers to the past or the present.</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Nós <span class="green_emphasis">chegamos</span> atrasados ontem. (<span style="font-style: italic">We arrived late yesterday.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Comparison</div>

<p>This difference applies to regular <strong>-ar</strong> verbs:</p>

<ul>

<li>

<div>

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

(<span style="font-style: italic">to speak</span>)</div>

<div>

<img class="conjugation_explanation_dialect_flag" src="/static/main/images/flags/portugal.png" height="20" width="20" />

fal<strong>á</strong>mos /

<img class="conjugation_explanation_dialect_flag" src="/static/main/images/flags/brazil.png" height="20" width="20" />

fal<strong>a</strong>mos</div>

</li>

<li>

<div>

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

(<span style="font-style: italic">to buy</span>)</div>

<div>

<img class="conjugation_explanation_dialect_flag" src="/static/main/images/flags/portugal.png" height="20" width="20" />

compr<strong>á</strong>mos /

<img class="conjugation_explanation_dialect_flag" src="/static/main/images/flags/brazil.png" height="20" width="20" />

compr<strong>a</strong>mos</div>

</li>

<li>

<div>

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

(<span style="font-style: italic">to stay</span>)</div>

<div>

<img class="conjugation_explanation_dialect_flag" src="/static/main/images/flags/portugal.png" height="20" width="20" />

fic<strong>á</strong>mos /

<img class="conjugation_explanation_dialect_flag" src="/static/main/images/flags/brazil.png" height="20" width="20" />

fic<strong>a</strong>mos</div>

</li>

</ul>

<p>In the following table, the affected form is highlighted:</p>

<div class="study_conjugations_tense_container">

<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/2/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Pretérito Perfeito</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">fiquei<span class="irregularity_circle">&#9679;</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>ficaste

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

ele

</span>ficou

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

nós

</span>ficamos <img src="/static/main/images/flags/brazil.png" title="Brazilian"></span>

</div>

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

nós

</span>ficámos <img src="/static/main/images/flags/portugal.png" title="European"></span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

vós

</span>ficastes

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

eles

</span>ficaram

</span>

</div>

</div>

</div>

</div>