FROM SPANISH TO PORTUGUESE

Irregular Verb Forms

Portuguese, like Spanish, has its fair share of irregular verbs in all tenses. You will quickly note that at times the irregularities are very similar to those in Spanish, and that at times they are quite different. For the most part, there is no easy way to categorize or compare these cross-language correspondences, or the lack of them. There are too many of them, and they are too varied and unpredictable. For instance, when you discover that 'I say' is digo, which is the same as the Spanish irregular form, you might analogize and guess that 'I do' as faço. But your guess would be wrong. The word is faço, which is irregular, but in another way. And you know this only by learning it. In most instances you are better off approaching Portuguese irregular forms without reference to Spanish irregular forms.

We must point out, however, two wide-ranging patterns of irregularity that frequently have correspondences in Spanish. In many verbs, Portuguese closed o and closed e change to open O and open E, respectively, in stressed syllables of present tense forms. In cognate verbs these changes correspond respectively to the Spanish o to ue and e to ie changes. (The changes take place in a number of non-cognates as well.) We are listing below some of the more common cognates. In some cases other irregularities are also present.

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