Present (1st Person Changes)

A few verbs, although otherwise regular in the present tense, have a change in the spelling and pronunciation for the first person singular (sentir ➡ eu sinto). In Portuguese, this is called 'alternância vocálica.'

This happens in certain third conjugation verbs (ending in -ir), where the vowel e changes to i or the vowel o changes to u:

It's important to note that while these verbs have a spelling change in the first person singular (eu), they generally follow the regular conjugation patterns for -ir verbs in the present tense in other forms.

• Sentir (present conjugation)
  • Eu sinto; tu sentes; você/ele/ela sente; nós sentimos; vocês/eles/elas sentem.
• Dormir (present conjugation)
  • Eu durmo; tu dormes; você/ele/ela dorme; nós dormimos; vocês/eles/elas dormem.

Here are some more verbs ending in -ir that have a spelling change in the present tense for the 1st person singular:

• Cobrir (to cover) ➡ Cubro
  • 🪑 Eu cubro a mesa com uma toalha. (I cover the table with a towel.)
• Descobrir (to discover)
  • Eu descubro novos lugares quando viajo. (I discover new places when I travel.)
• Despir (to undress) ➡ Dispo
  • Eu dispo o fato de banho no balneário. (I undress my swimsuit in the locker room.)
• Divertir (to have fun) ➡ Divirto
  • 🤝 Eu divirto os meus amigos com piadas. (I amuse my friends with jokes.)
• Engolir (to swallow) ➡ Engulo
  • 💧 Eu engulo comprimidos com água. (I swallow pills with water.)
• Encobrir (to conceal) ➡ Encubro
  • Eu encubro a verdade. (I hide/conceal the truth.)
• Ferir (to injure) ➡ Firo
  • Eu firo-o sem querer. (I unintentionally hurt him.)
• Inserir (to insert) ➡ Insiro
  • Eu insiro o cartão e a máquina devolve-o. (I insert the card and the machine returns it.)
• Preferir (to prefer) ➡ Prefiro
  • 🍷 Eu prefiro vinho branco, e tu? (I prefer white wine, and you?)
• Repetir (to repeat) ➡ Repito
  • Repito, esta situação é grave. (I repeat, this situation is serious.)
• Servir (to serve) ➡ Sirvo
  • Eu sirvo as sobremesas. (I serve the desserts.)
• Tossir (to cough) ➡ Tusso
  • Desde ontem que tusso imenso. (I’ve been coughing a lot since yesterday.)