Brazilian Portuguese Grammar

Structure of verb phrases

Estrutura das locuções verbais

Generally speaking, Portuguese verb phrases may present one of the structures below:

verb 1 + verb 2 in the infinitive;
verb 1 + verb 2 in the gerund;
verb 1 + verb 2 in the participle;
verb 1 + preposition + verb 2 in the infinitive.

Verb 1 + verb 2 in the infinitive

This verb phrase is typically found when verb 1 is transitive - notice that verb 1 is always conjugated, and verb 2 is always in the infinitive, e.g.:

transitive verb	meaning	example	translation
querer	to want	Quero viajar.	I want to travel.
precisar	to need	Precisamos estudar português.	We need to study Portuguese.
saber	can (abilities, skills)	Ela sabe falar catalão.	She can speak Catalan.
poder	can, may (permission)	Posso entrar?	May I come in? Can I come in?
dever	must	Eles devem voltar à escola imediatamente.	They must go back to school right away.

This verb phrase pattern is also common with verb ir followed by infinitive:

verb ir	translation	Note
Ele vai ler o livro.	He's going to read a book.	The use of verb ir in the present indicative followed by main verb in the infinitive is equivalent to the main verb conjugated in the futuro do presente do indicativo.
Ele ia ler o livro, mas...	He was going to read the book, but...	The use of verb ir in the imperfect indicative followed by main verb in the infinitive is equivalent to the English future in the past (was/were + going to + infinitive).
Ele ia ler o livro, mas...	He would read the book, but...	The use of verb ir in the imperfect indicative followed by main verb in the infinitive is equivalent to the English conditional simple (would + infinitive).