A1 Completion Path

A1 is the level of the solid present. By the end of it you can describe your life as it is now, ask and answer everyday questions, handle numbers and dates, and talk about the near future — enough to manage greetings, introductions, shopping, and simple daily transactions. This page is a completion checklist: it links every A1 topic in the guide, grouped by area, so you can see at a glance what's left and study the gaps. If you're brand new, do the Absolute Beginner Path first — this page assumes you already have the sounds and the four core verbs.

1. The present indicative (the engine of A1)

You met ser/estar/ter/ir in the beginner path. Now make the regular present tense automatic across all three conjugation classes, and add the remaining high-frequency irregulars.

• Present Indicative Overview — the whole tense in one page
• Regular patterns: -ar verbs, -er verbs, -ir verbs
• Core irregulars: Ser, Estar, Ter, Ir, Vir, Poder
• Subject-Verb Agreement — making the ending match the subject

Also nail the ser/estar/ficar distinction at A1 depth — it's not a one-page topic:

• Ser for Identity and Essence, Estar for Temporary States, Ficar for Change of State
• Ser vs Estar: Decision Guide
• Ter and Haver: Overview and Ter for 'There Is/Are' — the BR way to say "there is/are" is tem

2. The near future (free future tense)

Don't bother with future-tense endings at A1. The everyday Brazilian future is vou + infinitive, and it covers almost everything you'll want to say.

• The Periphrastic Future (vou + infinitive)
• Ir + Infinitivo

3. Nouns: gender, number, plurals

The noun phrase is where Portuguese agreement lives. Make gender second nature and learn the regular plural.

• Nouns: Overview
• Noun Gender Basics and Gender Rules and Patterns
• Plural Formation: Regular Rules
• Diminutives: -inho, -inha — cafezinho, pouquinho: hugely common in BR

4. Articles and determiners

• Determiners: Overview
• Definite Articles: O, A, Os, As and Indefinite Articles
• Articles with Personal Names: A Maria, O João — yes, BR puts articles before names
• Possessive Determiners and Numerals as Determiners
• Quantifiers: Muito, Pouco, Bastante

5. Adjective agreement

Adjectives copy the gender and number of their noun. This is the other half of the agreement system you started with articles.

• Adjectives: Overview
• Gender Agreement and Number Agreement
• Adjective Placement: After the Noun — the BR default
• Color Adjectives and Nationality Adjectives

6. Pronouns: subject (and a first object)

• Pronouns: Overview
• Subject Pronouns, Você as Default 2sg, A Gente as Colloquial 'Nós', Vocês: Universal 2pl
• Você vs Tu: Decision Guide
• Possessive Pronouns: Meu, Teu, Seu, Nosso and Dele / Dela — BR's everyday third-person possessive
• A first taste of object pronouns: Interrogative Quem and the everyday te in BR Colloquial Direct Object

7. Basic prepositions and contractions

Prepositions are short but mighty, and Portuguese fuses them with articles in mandatory contractions — de + o = do, em + a = na, a + o = ao. You can't skip these; they're in every sentence.

• Prepositions: Overview
• The big four: De, Em, A, Para, plus Com
• Mandatory contractions: with De, with Em
• Prepositions of Place

That sentence packs two contractions: do (de + o) and pra (the spoken para a). Spotting and producing these is a core A1 skill.

8. Questions

• Questions: Overview
• Yes/No Questions by Intonation and Tag Questions with 'Né?'
• The wh- set: Quem, Que vs O Que, Onde vs Aonde, Quando, Como, Quanto, Qual/Quais

9. Numbers, dates, and high-frequency expressions

• Numbers: Overview, Cardinal Numbers 1-100, Dates and Time
• Expressions and Idioms: Overview, Daily Life Expressions, Time Expressions, Feelings and Emotions, Weather Expressions

You can now... (A1 can-do summary)

By the time every section above is ticked off, you can:

• Talk about the present: describe where you live and work, what you have, what you like — using the present indicative and ser/estar/ter.
• Talk about the near future: vou viajar, a gente vai sair — plans and intentions with ir + infinitive.
• Build correct noun phrases: match articles and adjectives to gender and number across the phrase.
• Use the right people-words: você, a gente, vocês, possessives including dele/dela.
• Handle the small machinery: the core prepositions and their mandatory contractions (do, na, ao, pra).
• Ask and answer: yes/no and all the basic wh- questions.
• Manage daily life: numbers, prices, dates, times, greetings, and enough fixed expressions to get through everyday transactions.

What's next

When you can do all of that without stopping to think, you've finished A1. Move on to the A2 Completion Path, where the past opens up — the pretérito perfeito and imperfeito — along with object pronouns, reflexives, comparatives, the por/para split, and your first contact with the subjunctive.