More -ar Verb Forms

Dialog — Weather and Commuting

Mr. Clayton discusses his cold, the rainy weather, terrible traffic, and where he and his family live. This unit reviews nasal vowels, introduces they-forms and we-forms of -ar verbs, and explores the conjunction que in subordinate clauses.

Portuguese	English
Como é que o senhor se sente hoje?	How do you feel today?
Um pouco cansado. Ainda estou resfriado.	A little tired. I still have a cold.
É lógico! Está chovendo outra vez.	No wonder! It’s raining again.
E parece que vai chover o dia todo.	And it looks like it’s going to rain all day.
O tráfego está horrível hoje.	The traffic is terrible today.
Onde os senhores moram?	Where do you (pl.) live?
Nós moramos no Leme.	We live in Leme.
É longe?	Is it far?
Não, fica perto do túnel.	No, it’s near the tunnel.

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Notes on Grammar

Pronunciation Review: Nasal Vowels

Portuguese has several distinct nasal vowels. The n or m in the spelling signals nasalization of the preceding vowel — there is no actual n or m consonant sound.

Nasal Vowel	Examples
Nasalized e	centro, pretende, igualmente, embaixada, sente, chovendo
Nasalized a	levanto, quando, quanto, amanhã, mando, banda
Nasalized o	bom, com, onde, onça, longe
Nasalized i	sim, cinco, inglês, mim, vim, ainda

The word ainda (“still, yet”) contains a nasalized i vowel — do not pronounce the n.

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They-forms of -ar Verbs

The they-form of -ar verbs ends in the unstressed nasal diphthong -ão (contrasting with -er verbs whose they-forms end in -em).

He-form	They-form	English
fala	falam	speak(s)
mora	moram	live(s)
gosta	gostam	like(s)
levanta	levantam	get(s) up
pratica	praticam	practice(s)
trabalha	trabalham	work(s)
chega	chegam	arrive(s)
evita	evitam	avoid(s)
nota	notam	notice(s)

The -ão ending in they-forms is unstressed (the stress stays on the same syllable as in the he-form). Do not confuse it with the stressed -ão in words like não and vão.

Portuguese	English
Eles moram no Leme.	They live in Leme.
Elas falam português.	They (fem.) speak Portuguese.
Eles gostam do parque.	They like the park.
Eles trabalham no escritório.	They work in the office.

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We-forms of -ar Verbs

The we-form of -ar verbs ends in -amos (with the stress on the -a-):

Neutral form	We-form	English
chegar	chegamos	we arrive
falar	falamos	we speak
trabalhar	trabalhamos	we work
visitar	visitamos	we visit
evitar	evitamos	we avoid
morar	moramos	we live
levantar	levantamos	we get up
praticar	praticamos	we practice

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Open O in -ar Verb Forms

A number of -ar verbs have an open O in the I-form, he-form, and they-form, but a closed o in the we-form and the neutral form. This vowel shift is an important pronunciation detail.

Form	gost-	not-	mor-
I-form	gOsto	nOto	mOro
He-form	gOsta	nOta	mOra
They-form	gOstam	nOtam	mOram
We-form	gostamos	notamos	moramos
Neutral	gostar	notar	morar

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The Conjunction que

The word que (“that”) connects clauses in Portuguese, similar to English “that” in constructions like “it seems that…”

Portuguese	English
Parece que vai chover.	It seems that it’s going to rain.
Parece que ele gosta.	It seems that he likes (it).

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Ficar as “To Be Located”

In addition to meaning “to stay,” ficar can replace ser when speaking about the permanent location of places:

Portuguese	English
O consulado é no centro.	The consulate is downtown.
O consulado fica no centro.	The consulate is (located) downtown.
Recife fica no Brasil.	Recife is in Brazil.
Onde fica o Consulado Americano?	Where is the American Consulate?

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Practice Drills (Selected)

They-forms of -ar Verbs

Portuguese	English
Eles gostam da vista.	They like the view.
Eles trabalham na cidade.	They work in the city.
Eles moram em Washington.	They live in Washington.
Eles praticam muito.	They practice a lot.
Eles levantam às sete.	They get up at seven.
Eles falam inglês em casa.	They speak English at home.

We-forms of -ar Verbs

Portuguese	English
Levantamos cedo todos os dias.	We get up early every day.
Moramos no Leme.	We live in Leme.
Gostamos de morar lá.	We like to live there.
Trabalhamos na Embaixada Americana.	We work in the American Embassy.
Praticamos português no escritório.	We practice Portuguese in the office.
Não notamos um sotaque.	We don’t notice an accent.

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Comprehension

1. How does Mr. Clayton feel today? — A little tired. He still has a cold.
2. What is the weather like? — It’s raining again, and it looks like it will rain all day.
3. How is the traffic? — Terrible.
4. Where do they live? — In Leme.
5. Is it far? — No, it’s near the tunnel.

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Translation Drill

Practice putting these into Portuguese:

1. They live in Rio.
2. They like Rio.
3. They work in Rio.
4. Do they speak Portuguese?
5. We get up early every day.
6. We live in Leme.
7. We like to live there.
8. We work in the American Embassy.
9. We don’t like grammar.
10. It’s raining again.

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Key Vocabulary Summary

Portuguese	English
se sente	feel (he-form, reflexive)
cansado	tired
ainda	still, yet
resfriado	cold (illness)
lógico	logical
É lógico!	No wonder!
chovendo	raining
chover	to rain (infinitive)
outra vez	again (another time)
parece	it seems, it looks like (he-form)
parece que	it looks like (+ clause)
horrível	horrible, terrible
o dia todo	all day
moram / moramos	live (they-form / we-form)
falam / falamos	speak (they-form / we-form)
gostam / gostamos	like (they-form / we-form)
levantam / levantamos	get up (they-form / we-form)
praticam / praticamos	practice (they-form / we-form)
trabalham / trabalhamos	work (they-form / we-form)
longe	far
perto	near
o túnel	the tunnel
que	that (conjunction)