Third Conjugation: -ir Verbs

The -ir conjugation is the smallest of the three verb classes in Portuguese, but it includes many essential everyday verbs. The good news: if you already know the -er endings, you are almost there. The -ir and -er classes share endings in most tenses, diverging only in a handful of forms.

Common regular -ir verbs you will meet early:

Throughout this page, we use partir (to leave/depart) as the model verb. The stem is part-, and all endings attach to it.

Present indicative

Preterite (pretérito perfeito simples)

Notice that partimos is identical in the present and the preterite. Context always makes the meaning clear, just as comemos does the same double duty for -er verbs.

Imperfect (pretérito imperfeito)

Simple pluperfect (pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples)

This form is mainly literary. In spoken European Portuguese, the compound pluperfect (tinha partido) is preferred.

Future indicative (futuro do indicativo)

The future is formed from the full infinitive plus endings. This is the same for all three conjugation classes.

Conditional (condicional)

Like the future, the conditional builds on the full infinitive.

Present subjunctive

Imperfect subjunctive

Future subjunctive and personal infinitive

These two forms are identical for regular verbs. The future subjunctive appears in clauses introduced by quando, se, assim que, and similar conjunctions; the personal infinitive is a distinctly Portuguese feature that adds person endings to the infinitive.

Imperative

Non-finite forms

Every verb has three non-finite forms that do not change for person:

• Infinitive: partir
• Gerund: partindo
• Past participle: partido

Comparing -ir and -er endings

The -ir and -er conjugations are remarkably similar. The table below highlights where they differ, using partir and comer as models.

The only real divergence is in the present indicative nós and vós forms: -emos/-eis for -er versus -imos/-is for -ir. Everywhere else, the endings are effectively the same.

Watch out for stem-changing -ir verbs

Many common -ir verbs change their stem vowel in certain forms. These are not irregular in their endings — only the stem vowel shifts. Examples include dormir (durmo), sentir (sinto), pedir (peço), and servir (sirvo). These verbs follow predictable patterns of their own and are covered in Stem Changes.

The verbs ir (to go) and vir (to come) are -ir verbs by spelling but are highly irregular and have dedicated pages. Do not try to apply the regular patterns above to them.

With the -ir endings in hand, you now have the complete set of regular conjugation patterns. Return to The Three Conjugation Classes to see all three side by side.