Learning Portuguese grammar isn’t likely to take nearly as long as you think it will if you haven’t started it yet. The vast majority of it is surprisingly easy to master, and you can come away with a firm grasp of the basics after studying this subject for as little as one week. The reason for this is that there are really only a few aspects of this subject that are difficult. By focusing on these potential difficulties right up front, and attempting to simplify them for you, we aim to make your task even easier still. So, if you’re ready, fasten your grammatical seat belt and let’s get started!
A good place to get started learning Portuguese grammar is by understanding how its verbs operate. In Portuguese, time (tense) and person are the two types of meaning communicated by verbs. Tense has to do with when the action represented by the verb has taken (or will take) place, and person has to with who is performing the action of the verb. Portuguese uses the same three tenses that English does:
• Past Tense
• Present Tense
• Future Tense
The person of a verb in Portuguese is usually indicated by adding on a specific ending. The tense of a verb is indicated by changing its form.
Gender and plurality are two other important aspects of Portuguese grammar, just as they are with so many other languages. Fortunately, neither of them is all that difficult to master. When it comes to gender, the most important thing to remember is that in Portuguese, unlike in English, even inanimate objects are assigned genders. The most important thing to remember about plurality is that plural subjects must have plural verbs, and singular subjects must have singular ones. In order to help you understand this concept, we will give you an example from English. It would be incorrect to say, “The duck are running.” Instead, you would say, “The duck is running.” Likewise, you wouldn’t say, “The ducks is running.” You would say, “The ducks are running.” The same concept applies in Portuguese as well.
Just as is the case with mastering any other discipline, the most important thing to remember when you’re trying to get a handle on Portuguese grammar is that the old saying, “practice makes perfect,” has a lot of truth in it. You may get a little frustrated at first, but hang in there. You will master all of the concepts in due time.