Open Vowels in Verbs

Dialog — A Party and the Heat

Friends discuss a party, holidays, and dealing with the heat.

Portuguese	English
Quando é a festa?	When is the party?
A festa é no dia dez.	The party is on the tenth.
Onde é que a Sônia mora?	Where does Sônia live?
Ela mora na Virgínia.	She lives in Virginia.
A que horas a festa começa?	What time does the party start?
Às sete.	At seven.
Você leva os sanduíches?	Are you bringing the sandwiches?
Levo.	I am.
E eu levo o café… e uns refrigerantes também.	And I’ll bring the coffee… and some soft drinks too.
Você gosta de Coca-Cola?	Do you like Coca-Cola?
Gosto.	I do.
Até quando você vai ficar lá?	Until when are you going to stay there?
Até às nove.	Until nine.

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Notes on Grammar

Part I — Open O in -ar Verbs

In the present tense of certain -ar verbs, the he-form, I-form, and they-form have an open Ó vowel, while the we-form has a closed ô vowel.

I-form (open Ó)	He-form (open Ó)	They-form (open Ó)	We-form (closed ô)
gÓsto	gÓsta	gÓstam	gostamos
nÓto	nÓta	nÓtam	notamos
vÓlto	vÓlta	vÓltam	voltamos
mÓro	mÓra	mÓram	moramos
almÓço	almÓça	almÓçam	almoçamos

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Part II — Open E in -ar and -er Verbs

A similar pattern exists with the open É sound in certain verbs.

In -ar verbs:

I-form (open É)	He-form (open É)	They-form (open É)	We-form (closed ê)
comÉço	comÉça	comÉçam	começamos
lÉvo	lÉva	lÉvam	levamos

In -er verbs: The open É appears in the he-form and they-form, while the I-form and we-form use the closed ê.

He-form (open É)	They-form (open É)	I-form (closed ê)	We-form (closed ê)
bÉbe	bÉbem	bebo	bebemos
recÉbe	recÉbem	recebo	recebemos
esquÉce	esquÉcem	esqueço	esquecemos
escrÉve	escrÉvem	escrevo	escrevemos
conhÉce	conhÉcem	conheço	conhecemos
parÉce	parÉcem	pareço	parecemos

Summary of Open/Closed Vowel Patterns

Verb Type	Open vowel in…	Closed vowel in…
-ar (O)	I, he, they	we
-ar (E)	I, he, they	we
-er (E)	he, they	I, we

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Part III — Este/Esta (this) vs. Esse/Essa (that)

Portuguese distinguishes between “this” (close at hand) and “that” (not within immediate reach).

Este/Esta (this):

	Singular	Plural
Masculine	este	estes
Feminine	esta	estas

Esta has an open É in the first syllable; este has a closed ê. The stressed syllable of esta is the first syllable — unlike está (verb “is”), which is stressed on the last syllable.

Portuguese	English
esta hora	this hour
este carro	this car
esta lição	this lesson
este livro	this book
Este é o meu amigo.	This is my friend. (masc.)
Esta é a minha amiga.	This is my friend. (fem.)

Esse/Essa (that):

	Singular	Plural
Masculine	esse	esses
Feminine	essa	essas

Esse has a closed ê; essa has an open É.

Portuguese	English
esse carro	that car
essa moça	that girl
esse escritório	that office
essa praia	that beach

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Part IV — Greetings and Social Expressions

Portuguese	English
Oi!	Hi!
Sente.	Sit down. (command)
Você aceita um café?	Would you like a coffee?
Mesmo?!	Really?!
Você aceita uma Coca-Cola?	Will you accept a Coke?

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Part V — More Cognates Ending in -ão and -al

Extending the patterns from Unit 17, here are cognates used as adjectives:

English	Portuguese
special	especial
commercial	comercial
official	oficial
social	social
professional	profissional
national	nacional
international	internacional

These form plurals by changing -al to -ais: especial → especiais.

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Practice Drills (Selected)

Drill — Open Vowel Dialogs

Practice these exchanges, paying attention to the underlined open vowels:

Dialog A (open Ó):

1. A que hóras você almóça? — Almóço à uma hóra.
2. Você vólta às duas? — Vólto, sim.
3. Pósso almoçar com você hoje? — Póde, claro.

Dialog B (open Ó and É):

1. Quando é a fésta? — A fésta é nó dia dez.
2. Onde é que a Sônia móra? — Ela móra na Virgínia.
3. A que hóras a fésta coméça? — Às séte.

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Translation Drill

1. Do you know Sandra? — Yes, I know her.
2. Where does she live? — She lives nearby.
3. What time do you begin? — I begin at 9:00.
4. Is this office mine? — Yes, it’s yours. — Great! What a view!
5. Is that book yours? — No, it’s Robert’s.
6. Are these sandwiches yours? — No, they’re theirs.
7. Is this house yours? — No, it’s my parents’.
8. I’m sure I know that girl. But who is she? — It’s Sandra.
9. When is the holiday? — The holiday falls on Tuesday, but it’s going to be celebrated on Monday.
10. Will you accept a Coke? — Yes, thanks. It’s very hot.

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Key Vocabulary Summary

Portuguese	English
gosto / gosta / gostam	I like / he likes / they like
começo / começa / começam	I begin / he begins / they begin
volto / volta / voltam	I return / he returns / they return
moro / mora / moram	I live / he lives / they live
levo / leva / levam	I take / he takes / they take
este / esta	this (m/f)
estes / estas	these (m/f)
esse / essa	that (m/f)
esses / essas	those (m/f)
o sanduíche	sandwich
o refrigerante	soft drink
o feriado	holiday
a montanha	mountain
aceitar	to accept
especial	special
comercial	commercial
oficial	official
profissional	professional