Stem-Changing Irregulars
As you learned in the previous lesson, to find the future subjunctive base of an irregular verb, you look at its eles/elas form in the simple past (Pretérito Perfeito) and drop the -am ending. Then, add the regular future subjunctive endings:
| Subject | Ending |
|---|---|
| eu / ele / ela / você | (none) |
| tu | -es |
| nós | -mos |
| eles / elas / vocês | -em |
Many common verbs undergo a stem change in the past tense, which carries over into the future subjunctive.
The Verbs "ver" and "vir"
The verbs ver (to see) and vir (to come) must be handled carefully, as their forms can be easily confused in the future subjunctive.
- ver: The past tense is viram, giving the base vir-. (Notice that this looks exactly like the infinitive of "to come"!)
- vir: The past tense is vieram, giving the base vier-.
| When the judge comes to the court, the lawyer will tell the truth. | Quando o juiz vier ao tribunal, o advogado dirá a verdade. |
| If the accusation comes today, the defense will do the same. | Se a acusação vier hoje, a defesa fará o mesmo. |
| When the judge sees that the man is innocent, the defense wins. | Quando o juiz vir que o homem é inocente, a defesa ganha. |
| When we see the sentence, we will say everything to the client. | Quando virmos a sentença, diremos tudo ao cliente. |
The Verbs "fazer", "dizer", and "querer"
The simple past eles/elas forms of fazer (to do/make), dizer (to say), and querer (to want) are fizeram, disseram, and quiseram. Dropping the -am gives us the bases fizer-, disser-, and quiser-.
| If the judge wants, the lawyer will make a new accusation. | Se o juiz quiser, o advogado fará uma nova acusação. |
| If the lawyer says that, the defense loses the case. | Se o advogado disser isso, a defesa perde o caso. |
| The lawyer will bring the proof if the witness does a good job. | O advogado trará a prova se a testemunha fizer um bom trabalho. |
The Verb "poder"
The past tense of poder (to be able to / can) is puderam, giving us the future subjunctive base puder-.
| We have to hear the testimony when we can. | Temos de ouvir o depoimento quando pudermos. |